Kier has restarted work on a new high-containment laboratory building at the UK Health Security Campus in Harlow, Essex, following the reactivation of its Pre-Construction Services Agreement (PCSA) with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Known as H50, the facility will house laboratories for Containment Level 3 (CL3) and Containment Level 4 (CL4) pathogens, supporting the UK's ability to respond to serious infectious disease threats.
The reactivated agreement covers the pre-construction phase of the project, ahead of physical construction.
Early works across the wider campus programme are expected to begin in 2028, with main construction scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2029.
The campus is expected to be complete and in service by September 2038.
H50 forms part of the wider £3.52bn UK Health Security Campus programme, for which funding was announced as part of the Government's 2025 Spending Review.
The programme will bring UKHSA's specialist scientific facilities at Porton Down and Colindale, together with its London corporate headquarters, onto a single site in Harlow by 2038.
The development is intended to modernise UKHSA's estate, safeguard critical scientific capabilities and strengthen the agency's emergency preparedness and national resilience.
“We're proud to continue our work with UKHSA on a programme that will play a vital role in protecting the country from the most serious public health threats,” said Spencer Baber, Managing Director of Kier Strategic Projects.
Kier said it would draw on its construction, engineering and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) services expertise to support the delivery of the complex, highly regulated facility.
The contractor has delivered more than 200 healthcare projects and major investment programmes across the UK.
Earlier in 2026, it was appointed to deliver the approximately £500m Hinchingbrooke Hospital under the NHS Hospital 2.0 Alliance Framework.
The Harlow development follows earlier plans for a Public Health England campus at the site.
In 2018, Kier Group, Wates Construction and VolkerFitzpatrick were appointed to build the new PHE facility.
(Photo credit: UK Health Security Agency)
