Manchester Airport Developments is finalising framework deals with consultants and contractors for its £1bn, 10-year construction programme,

The client has signed up one team of consultants after a year of negotiations, and is near to completing a deal with a second team.

The first team is led by Gleeds and includes architect Pascall + Watson and engineers Scott Wilson and WSP.

The second team, made up of QS and project manager Davis Langdon and architect Aedas, was poised to sign a contract as Building went to press.

The programme includes work at Manchester, Nottingham East Midlands, Humberside and Bournemouth airports, which are all owned by Manchester Airport Developments.

The Gleeds-led team has started work on a £35m terminal at East Midlands airport and is undertaking terminal refurbishments and a

hotel scheme at Manchester airport.

Colin Boothman, a partner in Gleeds, said the firm had enjoyed a strong relationship with the client for the past 12 years.

We will be working on a fantastic variety of capital projects, from hotels to terminals

Colin Boothman, Gleeds partner

Boothman said: “We will be working on a fantastic variety of capital projects that range from retail and office developments to runways, and from hotels to terminal buildings and car parks.”

Manchester Airport Developments is also in the middle of negotiations with design-and-build teams led by Mace and Laing O’Rourke.

A source at one of the teams said: “The airport is still looking at volumes of work and sharing business plans with the contracting teams.”

He said a traditional form of contract would be employed initially but that the client aimed to switch to a PPC2000 partnering agreement in the long run.

Manchester Airport Developments initially set up nine framework deals in 2001 for QSs, architects and engineers. The client had a rethink early last year and has pruned the frameworks back to two. Local sources said at the time that the client’s £1bn spend made it the largest client in the north of England.