CH2M Hill learned Wednesday that it landed a $190.3 million contract to oversee environmental cleanup and venue construction for the 2012 London Olympic Games, a deal that gives the company a foothold in Europe and serves as a catalyst for growth worldwide.
CH2M Hill, a global engineering and construction company based in Douglas County, will serve as project manager before and after the 2012 Games. The company, along with its pair of United Kingdom-based partners, Laing O’Rourke and Mace, will assist English officials in selecting subcontractors to perform work worth an estimated $4 billion.
The consortium, known as CLM, is expected to sign the contract within 10 days, said Elizabeth Crawshaw, a spokeswoman for the Olympic Delivery Authority, the government-appointed entity overseeing construction for the Games.
The bulk of the consortium’s work will focus on the environmental cleanup and construction at the future Olympic Park, a site 3 miles east of central London that will include the Olympic Stadium and Village.
The consortium will also oversee the erection of venues, such as sports stadiums, swimming pools and even a white-water rafting facility.
CH2M Hill is Colorado’s largest private company by revenue and employs 18,000 people worldwide. The deal is expected to lead to significant staff growth for CH2M Hill as the company hires to meet its obligations under the contract.
The consortium outlasted more than 60 companies that expressed interest, according to the website for the Olympic Delivery Authority. The consortium beat three other finalists: Bechtel Group Inc. of San Francisco; a consortium headed by Houston-based KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton Co.; and a group led by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., based in Pasadena, Calif.
CH2M Hill has performed work for past Olympic Games, including the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It has landed environmental-management contracts for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-954-1260 or wshanley@denverpost.com.
