Contracts to watch

PFI abroad
PFI is going global – and UK firms’ expertise is required everywhere from Ireland to Turkey.

Beijing Olympics 2008
This year, China will start awarding tenders for what is likely to be the most ambitious Olympics of all time. Firms are licking their lips at the prospect of the £23bn pie – and a bridgehead in the vast and expanding Chinese market.

London Olympics 2012
Is London going to bid? Well, even if it doesn’t, plenty of consultants will be needed to say why not.

Rebuilding Iraq
The much-anticipated US-led war will – probably – result in the replacement of Saddam Hussein with a more co-operative regime. The nation will then need rebuilding – and, unlike Afghanistan, it will have the oil dollars to pay for it. Prime minister Tony Blair’s support for the Americans might well be repaid in contracts for UK firms.