Fitzpatrick to head out to Afghanistan

Fitzpatrick is preparing to be among the first international contractors into war-ravaged Afghanistan once the dust settles.

Managing director Bernard Woodman confirmed that his firm is in discussions with the country's minister for health over plans to build two regional hospitals - one in Kapisa in the province north of the capital Kabul and one in Logar, south of Kabul - plus two medical clinics in Kabul at an estimated cost of £68m.

"We've been asked to draw up the design specifications and put together a list of medical equipment," he told CJ. Funding will have to be arranged, most likely through aid agencies and grants. "As an entrepreneurial contractor our aim is to have designs ready for as soon as the trouble subsides and people make funds available," he added.

He said the deal would be good for British manufacturers of building materials and supplies and would create about 1,200 jobs in the Midlands, North East and Scotland.

The contractor recently completed a £55m, 240-bed hospital in neighbouring Kazakhstan, financed by a loan from French bank Soci't' G'n'rale and guaranteed by the government's Export Credit Guarantees Department.

The firm has also just signed a £31m deal with the Republic of Yemen to upgrade The Queen Elizabeth II hospital in Aden.