As part of the Hônoris* consortium, Bouygues Construction has signed a public-private-partnership contract for the new Bourgoin-Jallieu hospital complex in the French Alps. The contract – worth 230 million euros for Bouygues Construction alone – covers financing, design and construction, as well as facilities management for 32 years. It is the 80th hospital contract Bouygues Construction has won since 1 January 2005.

This project illustrates the group’s know-how in the hospital sector. Outstanding by its size (55,000 sq. metres) and its tight construction lead time (to be operational by May 2011), the hospital comprises a maternity, gynaecology and paediatrics block, ward blocks, a clinical support and theatre block (operating theatres, obstetrics rooms, accident and emergency, etc.), and an ancillary medical and accommodation services block (pharmacy, sterilisation, laboratory, catering, shops, etc.). A High Environmental Quality (HQE) approach is an integral part of each stage in the project. Construction will be led by GFC Construction (a Bouygues Construction subsidiary), starting in late November 2007, and will take three years. Over 100 staff will be working on the project at peak periods. Facilities management will be provided by Exprimm, the group’s specialist facilities management subsidiary.

Bouygues Construction has been heavily committed to hospital work since the early 1980s and has a great deal of expertise in such complex construction operations. The group has acquired a leading position in the field as a contractor capable of working at all levels (financing, design and construction of buildings, Mechanical and Electrical – M&E – and fitout, and facilities management) and under different forms of contract (separate work packages, main contractor, design-and-build, or public-private partnerships).

In France, Bouygues Construction subsidiaries are currently working on around 50 hospital projects, which represent more than 1 billion euros of works and a total of close to 7,000 beds (see Appendix).

Since the French Ministry of Health launched the "Hospital 2007" plan in 2003, a host of projects have been carried out to renovate French hospitals. The "Hospital 2012" plan, which will come into effect in 2008, calls for the same level of investment. In addition to continued structural renovation of hospital buildings, it puts emphasis on upgrading (fire safety, asbestos, earthquake regulations, air conditioning, etc.).

The hospital sector represented order intakes of nearly 350 million euros for Bouygues Construction in 2006, or the equivalent of close to 10% of all its construction order intakes in France.

* The Hônoris consortium consists of GFC Construction, Exprimm, Fideppp (Natixis group) and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.