Laing O'Rourke's offsite methods cut nuclear project site time by half, report says

Laing O'Rourke says its industrialised construction methods have halved the time workers need on site at Hinkley Point C, with a 60% reduction expected for the upcoming Sizewell C nuclear project. The contractor credits an advanced rebar and reinforcement facility in Avonmouth for shifting high-intensity work from uncontrolled site environments to precision-engineered facilities, which also lowers the carbon footprint by minimising waste, logistics emissions, and energy consumption. The company reported a 10.3% year-on-year reduction in emissions intensity and aims to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2030. It is also integrating AI tools to optimise build sequencing for Sizewell C. While turnover fell 6.6% to £3.69bn, pretax profit nearly doubled to £80.1m, reflecting a deliberate shift toward margin improvement over volume.