Heathrow Airport has received over 120 bids from communities across Britain to host new 'pioneering' offsite construction hubs.

The facilities will form part of Heathrow's £16 billion expansion programme to expand the Airport with a new runway and boost growth across the country.

The hubs aim to pioneer off-site manufacturing to reduce the overall cost of the expansion, as well as promoting the use of SMEs.

A total of 121 bids from councils and private companies have been received to host one of four UK logistics hubs. The facilities will work by pre-assembling components off-site before transporting them in consolidated loads to Heathrow as they are needed. This method will boost the project's efficiency and cut emissions by transporting components to site in fewer lorries.

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Suitable locations will showcase the logistics hub to have a positive economic impact in their area, as well as good connectivity, access to a relevant supply chain, strong local skills, support in their region and adequate facilities. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding with the Scottish Government will see one of the logistics hubs established in Scotland.

Earlier this year, research by WPI Economics revealed that integrating an offsite manufacturing supply chain into a major project could potentially reduce the scheme's overall cost by up to 25%, as well as speeding up delivery by up to 30%.

Overall, Heathrow will be the first major infrastructure project in the UK to pioneer the large-scale use of logistics hubs – aiming to build as much of the project off-site as possible.

John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive Officer of Heathrow, said: "Expanding Heathrow is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to really boost growth across Britain – and not just with more capacity at the nation's hub airport, but from building it. Over 100 communities across Britain have put themselves forward to host one of our pioneering logistics hubs and we couldn't be more impressed by the applicants.

"Together we'll build an expanded Heathrow – boosting growth outside London, leaving a world-class construction legacy for the UK and delivering expansion faster, cheaper and with less impact on our local communities."

All applications will be considered by Heathrow and a list of potential sites is expected to be announced later this year.

(LM)