Local engineering contractors Mivan have confirmed a £20m contract to fit out the new Scottish Parliament Building at Holyrood.

The Northern Ireland company are currently completing a £4m contract on the Scottish Parliament site. The latest contract, announced on Tuesday, October 15, will see Mivan will fit-out the Debating Chamber, Press Tower and two other towers, in a deal valued at £13m. A second £7m programme will include fitting-out additional towers on the Edinburgh site.

Ivan McCabrey, CEO of Mivan, said: “For a Northern Ireland company to be appointed as one of the key contractors on the Scottish Parliament development is a significant vote of confidence. This is an exciting and challenging project and we are delighted that Mivan has been chosen for some of the most prestigious elements of the overall contract.”

Work, which will begin immediately, is scheduled to be completed by April 2003.

However, the Holyrood Parliament Building project has caused a storm of controversy in Scotland. The original budget of £40m has been grossly exceeded to the tune of £300m, a figure that, according to Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie, "could have delivered 83 primary schools, 25 secondary schools or three brand new hospitals."

Mivan’s work as part of the latest contracts will include manufacturing and fitting partitions, raised floors and finishes, ceilings, bespoke fire-rated timber doors and screens, architectural metalwork, decoration and furniture.

The construction managers on the Scottish Parliament project are Bovis Lend Lease (Scotland) and the architects are EMBT/RMJM.

Other ongoing contracts for Mivan include building a new aviary in Miami Zoo, and work on a theme park development for Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

One of the world’s leading specialist engineering contractors, with offices in the UK, Europe, USA and the Far East, over the last 25 years, Mivan has completed telecommunications infrastructure, formwork sales, interiors and general contracting projects in around 40 countries.

Mivan directly employs 850 workers and between 4,000 - 5,000 indirect subcontractors at its locations in Antrim, Manchester, London, USA, Romania and Malaysia.

Annual sales exceed £60m per annum and 95% of Mivan’s turnover is with customers outside Northern Ireland.

Previous major contracts for Mivan include constructing a palace for Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, building a hospital in the Gaza Strip, an entire town in Thailand and re-roofing the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem.

Mivan has twice refurbished the QE2, built the interiors of two Disney cruise liners and was the largest general contractor on Euro Disney. The company’s specialist fitting-out expertise includes outfitting theme parks, cruise liners, prestige public buildings and apartment buildings worldwide.

(GB/SP)