Kier BAM’s 10 Dock appointment dates to 2022, with no confirmation of a new contract
Key Facts
The available official announcement of the Kier BAM joint venture’s appointment dates to July 19, 2022, when BAM Group said the project had been selected to support the redevelopment of 10 Dock. The appointment was under a major civil engineering framework, not an announcement of a new contract at the reported value. In a separate disclosure, Babcock announced a £750 million contract with the UK Ministry of Defence’s Submarine Delivery Agency. That contract’s value therefore does not demonstrate new revenue of the amount attributed to Kier BAM.
BAM said the initial scope was awarded under the NEC4 Framework for Major Civil Engineering Works, which allows multiple delivery contracts to be awarded under the framework. It is tied to the redevelopment of 10 Dock at Devonport, where the project includes redeveloping a dry dock for nuclear submarines, demolishing existing buildings and constructing new ones. The work supports the Royal Navy’s submarine maintenance programme, according to BAM’s project description. In its announcement of its government contract, Babcock identified Kier BAM as the principal contractor at 10 Dock. The company also said Costain and Mott Macdonald are delivery partners on the project.
The government contract announced by Babcock differs in parties and scope from the civil engineering framework awarded to the Kier BAM joint venture. The company said it had signed a four-year, £750 million contract with the UK Ministry of Defence’s Submarine Delivery Agency to provide infrastructure supporting submarines and their maintenance. The programme includes facilities enabling maintenance work, including deep maintenance, according to Babcock’s statement. The company also said infrastructure upgrades at Devonport would enable core maintenance periods and deep maintenance projects for current and future submarines, including nuclear defuelling. Then-UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the investment would create and sustain more than 1,000 jobs in southwest England.
The 10 Dock project reflects operational requirements linked to the Royal Navy’s Astute-class submarine maintenance. In its 2025 annual report, Babcock said the work would provide a new dock, wharf and facilities for logistics and production support, to be used primarily for the submarines’ deep maintenance periods. The report said demolition of the old facilities had been completed and that the project had surpassed 3 million hours worked without a reportable injury by April 2025. Plymouth City Council also said the new dry dock facilities would support maintenance of Astute-class submarines. The city said in June 2026 that the Kier BAM project aimed to employ 120 people for the next phase of work by September 2026.
In Devonport infrastructure developments, Babcock announced on October 23, 2026, the opening of a new skills centre at the dock, with capacity to support up to 1,500 technicians and apprentices a year. The company also announced the start of construction on a logistics centre at Sherford, on a 18.8-acre site, with the potential to accommodate a facility of up to 30,000 square metres. At group level, Babcock revenue in fiscal 2026 was about £5.178 billion, compared with £4.831 billion in the previous fiscal year. Its order book stood at £9.8 billion in its 2026 annual report. EL7 data showed BCKIF shares closing at $12.7 on October 29, 2026; this does not establish a link between the share move and the Kier BAM appointment announcement dating to 2022.