Balfour Beatty JV Awarded Hong Kong Theatre Project

Balfour Beatty’s 50/50 Far East joint venture, Gammon Construction, has been awarded a HK$5.5-billion works contract of the Lyric Theatre Complex and Extended Basement by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority in Hong Kong to construct the final stage of the Lyric Theatre Development.

Works include the construction of a world-class theater complex that comprises of a 1,450-seat lyric theater, a 600-seat medium theater and a 270-seat studio theater, as well as numerous dance and rehearsal studios, restaurants, offices and information and ticketing center.

Gammon has supported the delivery of the development of the Lyric Theatre Complex since 2016 when it was awarded the first of two phases by WKCDA, delivering the foundation works, for which it twice received the WKCDA highest commendation for safety performance. In January 2018, a further contract award saw Gammon deliver the public infrastructure and extended basement works. This third contract forms the third and final stage of the Lyric Theatre development.

In line with Balfour Beatty’s 25 by 2025 strategy, which aims to reduce activity onsite by 25 percent by the year 2025, Gammon will adopt an Integrated Digital Project Delivery system. This includes adopting modularization and offsite manufacturing techniques, as well as utilizing digital tools such as Building Information Modeling to improve quality, productivity and safety.

The Lyric Theatre Complex neighbors the M+ Museum project for which Gammon was appointed management contractor by WKCDA in September of this year. Both projects form part of the West Kowloon Cultural District development, which aims to establish a vibrant world-class cultural quarter on Hong Kong’s harbor front that blends art, education and public space.

Works are scheduled to commence in autumn 2019 and expected to be complete by the end of 2023. A workforce of 1,700 will be engaged at peak construction.

Image: Artist impression of the Lyric Theatre Complex.