Skanska has been chosen as preferred bidder for the 拢1bn Essex 黑洞社区 Schools for the Future programme

The job, the second-biggest BSF scheme after Kent, will include developing, constructing and maintaining three schools for Essex council. Work is due to start in 2011.

News of the decision will come as a relief to staff at the contractor, who had been warned they could face redundancy if the bid failed.

Last month Mike Putnam, Skanska UK鈥檚 president, sent an internal memo to staff which said: 鈥淩egrettably, if we are not successful at winning additional work in the short term, a number of roles will become redundant during 2010.鈥�

Before the Essex deal, Skanska is understood to have won one out of the four BSF projects it had bid for. It is understood to have spent 拢6m bidding for a 拢477m deal in Kent, which it lost to Kier.

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