Sir Robert McAlpine has been appointed by Northumbria University under a pre-construction services agreement (PCSA) to deliver the North East Space Skills and Technology Centre (NESST).
The £26m contract value scheme comprises the partial demolition, refurbishment and extension of the existing Wynne Jones building to form the NESST Centre for Northumbria University.
The works will include new ground floor and six upper levels with a footprint area of circa 900m2. The building will provide satellite manufacturing clean rooms, advanced prototyping laboratories, a Mission Operations Centre teaching laboratories and collaborative spaces for work with companies in the space manufacturing supply chain.
This ground-breaking project, backed by substantial investment from the UK Space Agency and Lockheed Martin Space, represents a significant milestone in advancing the UK's space industry.
NESST is expected to directly support the creation of over 350 jobs. The project will inject over £260 million into the North East economy over the next 30 years, playing a critical role in the government’s levelling-up agenda and becoming a catalyst for the wider development of the UK space sector in the North East region.
This award builds on Sir Robert McAlpine’s long-standing successful relationship with Northumbria University and was awarded via the North East Procurement Organisation framework for council and public body projects.
Located in the heart of Northumbria University’s Newcastle city campus, the centre will be a new national space asset that brings together industry and academia to collaborate on internationally significant space research and technological developments.
NESST will put the UK at the forefront of research and innovation in areas including optical satellite communications, space weather and space-based energy, and will lead the way in providing specialist education and training to ensure the UK space sector has the highly skilled workers it needs in the future.
