Osborne poised for £100m Chichester college scheme

Sources say Geoffrey Osborne is poised to haul in its biggest-ever contract.

The word is the local firm is preferred bidder for the £100m redevelopment of the Chichester College campus in West Sussex, ahead of rivals Wates and Laing O'Rourke.

Designs for the project have to be worked up and then submitted to the Skills Council for approval, so a start on site is not expected until October 2009.

The project will be tackled in phases, with completion expected within 42 months.

As usual with projects of this kind, the scheme has gone down the two-stage tender design-and-build route.

The job involves demolition work, with mainly new build projects, but also some refurbishment tasks.