THE £2.5million contract to build the first building at the Enterprise Zone at Alconbury has been awarded to Kier Construction.

The incubator unit at Alconbury Weald will be used by Urban&Civic, the owners of the former airfield, to attract new companies into the area as it transforms the 1,420-acre site.

The incubator building is the first part of the development that will eventually see an Enterpise Zone created alongside a residential development of 5,000 homes and a community of schools, parks and leisure facilities.

The incubator building will aim to attract small and start-up businesses – with a particular emphasis on high-tech manufacturing and research and development.

It will be built using a number of environmentally friendly initiatives, including using 20 per cent recycled aggregate in the concrete structure and recycled rain water for flushing toilets. The building will also be thermally efficient, using the mass of the structure for temperature control and a mixed mode ventilation system.

Urban&Civic project director Tim Leathes said: “We are pleased to have appointed Kier to carry out the construction of the first iconic building which will form part of the Enterprise Campus. As a locally-based construction firm, Kier can help us to achieve our ambition to ensure that sustainability is at the heart of the development of Alconbury Weald. As part of the contract Kier has committed to employing an apprentice and providing work placements for local students which is just the start of our aspiration to provide jobs and opportunities for young people.”

Kier Construction director, Dennis Cotton, added: “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract to build the exciting flagship Incubator building in the Alconbury Weald Enterprise Campus.

“Wherever possible we look to employ subcontractors from within 30 miles of the site, and this project will provide training and development opportunities, as well as workload, for our local supply chain. We can’t wait to get started.”

Kier will begin construction work shortly and expect to complete the project by the end of the year.