As part of a consortium led by Catalyst Lend Lease & Bovis Lend Lease, Redstone, a provider of IT and communications solutions, has been selected as a preferred bidder to deploy the complete converged IT and communications infrastructure for the Building Schools for the Future program in Birmingham. Financial close is expected to take place by May 2009.
The total contract value to Redstone is expected to be worth approximately GBP150m over 15 years. The 15-year scheme involves the redevelopment of 89 secondary and special needs schools across the city, providing for the educational needs of over 77,000 students.
Redstone, in partnership with the City Council, will be supplying a complete IT and communications services that will give each school a fully integrated IP network, communications and e-learning environment.
According to Redstone, Birmingham City Council is aiming to sign the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) contract in May 2009 and plans are in place to start work immediately on the first three schools in phase one. These are due to open in 2011 and seven more schools and three academies will all follow in the first phase. The remaining schools will be built over five further phases, completing in 2020.
Martin Balaam, CEO of Redstone, said: Redstone is delighted to have been selected as preferred bidder for the Birmingham BSF project. The scale of this project re-affirms Redstone’s position as a leading provider of ICT and communications solutions. We are committed to transforming education through ICT and will continue to actively bid for further BSF projects together with our preferred partners.
