Contractors have seen first light of a £100m job to build a new British embassy in Beijing.
The bumper project will involve the demolition of the entire site, as well as the nearby ambassador’s residence. Rebuilding work will then commence, which will also include a new guard house and underground car park.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) expects to publish a contract notice in March 2025, and to award the contract in December of that year.
The development is subject to local planning permission.
The selected contractor will carry out the work in two phases. First it will demolish the ambassador’s residence before building the new embassy, guard house, staff accommodation and underground car park in its place.
The second phase will involve demolishing the old embassy building and replacing it with an underground car park, ambassador’s residence, staff accommodation and guard house.
Phase one is valued at £60m, while the second phase is worth £40m.
The FCDO is planning a market-engagement event at 10am on 30 September, at a venue in central London that has yet to be decided. Interested contractors should email mollie.giuffrida@fcdo.gov.uk by 16 September.
The current embassy has been in use since 1959.
The move comes at the same time as the Chinese government negotiates to build a new embassy on the Royal Mint Court site near the Tower of London. A fresh planning application has been submitted to Tower Hamlets council.
Following the application, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London said: “The resubmitted planning application has taken into full consideration the UK’s planning policy and guidance, as well as opinions of all relevant parties. This is a high-quality development scheme.
“The Chinese embassy in the UK is committed to promoting the friendship between the Chinese and British people and the development of bilateral relations between the two countries. Building the new embassy at an early date would help us better perform such responsibilities.”
