Carillion has been named as preferred bidder for the £1bn Queen Alexandra hospital project in Portsmouth, one of the largest PFI hospital projects to be awarded.
Carillion, in a joint venture with Royal Bank of Scotland, is to provide £200m for a 1200-bed hospital. It will provide maintenance services for 33 years.

  The deal means that Carillion can develop a dedicated health PFI sector, Carillion Health, to bring together key bidding parts.

Carillion Health has won the £600m Oxford Radcliffe Infirmary PPP project and a similar £800m health care scheme in Ontario, Canada.

Carillion saw off competition for the Portsmouth project from two consortiums: Key Health, comprising Alfred McAlpine, Emcor Drake & Scull and Sodexho; and Summit Healthcare, made up of Sir Robert McAlpine, Amec and Interserve.