Ballast Nedam and Hurks to be Awarded Contract for Public Transport Terminal in Breda

NIEUWEGEIN, The Netherlands, September 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Prorail has expressed its intent to award the contract for the construction of the new OV (public transport) terminal in Breda to Ballast Nedam and Hurks. The terminal will be a regional public transport hub with a train and bus station, houses, offices and shops all under one roof. It will include a modern and strikingly designed station as well as some 150 apartments, 20.000m² of office space, 9000m² of shops and four cafes/restaurants. The new terminal was designed by the architectural firm Koen van Velsen.

The Ballast Nedam/Hurks combination entered the most competitive bid in Prorail's European call for tenders. The contract price is approximately € 130 million. The building permit applications are currently being processed; preparatory work will start as soon as possible.

The new terminal will be built on the site of the present train station and will link the city centre to the Belcrum district. Old residential areas, factory complexes and abandoned yards currently border the railway. The new terminal will mean a metamorphosis for this region and as such it is one of the major urban development challenges in the Netherlands.

Theo Bruijninckx, chairman of the Board of Directors of Ballast Nedam: "The terminal is a complex, integrated project within the dynamic urban landscape. The project also fits perfectly in Ballast Nedam's strategy, whereby we focus on integrated projects and niche markets in industrial construction, hospitals, offshore windmills, secondary raw materials and alternative fuels."

Geert Hurks, chairman of the Board of Directors of Hurks: "A key focus point in the Hurks strategy is to be a solid market partner in the realisation of important and complex urban area development projects in the Netherlands. All Hurks staff are proud that our organisation will be involved in one of the country's greatest construction challenges during the next few years."

The new terminal will have seven railways and three platforms. It will have a capacity of sixteen trains per hour, including four high-speed shuttles, which is new for Breda. The new bus platform will have space for twenty buses, offering convenient connections to railway service. The design includes parking for more than 4,000 bicycles both inside and outside the terminal and parking for 720 cars on the terminal's roof. The north and south sides of the terminal will be connected by a wide, spacious underground shopping area. There will be open, inviting squares on the front and rear sides, with wide avenues that provide good accessibility. The terminal will also incorporate houses and offices, some of which will be occupied by the tax authorities.

Ballast Nedam has a leading position in construction and infrastructure. The company operates mainly in the Netherlands on integrated and other projects for companies, public authorities and housing consumers, in the fields of mobility, housing, employment, leisure and energy. Ballast Nedam operates internationally in various areas of expertise. Ballast Nedam supplies project, process and contract management in the development, implementation and management phases. The company also provides specialized know-how and skills, and semi-finished and finished products. Ballast Nedam is listed on NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam. The share is included in the Amsterdam Small Cap Index.

Hurks groep bv in Eindhoven is the mother organisation and binding force behind 14 Hurks companies that each operate in a specific segment of the construction sector. With a turnover of approximately €385 million and some 900 employees, the Hurks group is one of the ten largest construction companies in the Netherlands. The group is active in property development, project development and the supply of components for the construction industry. The operating companies are all independent and responsible for their own turnover and results. The companies collaborate and share their knowledge and expertise. Please see http://www.hurks.nl for more information.

PRN NLD