Babcock awards KierBAM £600m contract to rebuild Devonport's 10 Dock

Overview

Updated 2 days ago

Ten Dock at Devonport is one of the few places in Britain where a Royal Navy submarine can undergo deep maintenance. On 2 November 2026 Babcock awarded KierBAM, a joint venture of Kier and BAM Nuttall, a contract worth about £600m to rebuild it.

The rebuild is part of Project Royal Oak, a £7.1bn ten-year upgrade of the dockyard that also covers 15 Dock, where an Astute-class submarine docked for the first time in September, and the return of 14 Dock to defuelling. The contract announcement gave no completion date, and the 2027 target the Ministry of Defence gave Parliament in 2023 looks out of reach. Costain and Mott MacDonald, Babcock's delivery partner on the job, said the design stage won a BREEAM Infrastructure rating of Excellent, above the ministry's Very Good requirement.

Why it matters

Britain's attack submarines already wait in queues for maintenance. A slower 10 Dock means a longer queue and fewer boats at sea.

Questions about this story

Free account needed to ask — your question is kept and asked for you right after sign-up. Answers are public.

No questions yet — be the first to ask.

Key Indicators

£600m

Main construction contract

Awarded by Babcock to KierBAM for 10 Dock, funded by the Ministry of Defence.

£7.1bn

Project Royal Oak investment

Ten-year investment in HMNB Devonport and Devonport Dockyard, of which 10 Dock is one part.

1,500

Supply-chain jobs supported

Babcock's estimate for the wider 10 Dock programme.

300

Babcock roles at Devonport

Part of the same programme-wide job estimate.

90.59%

BREEAM score at interim design

Rating of Excellent at Strategy and Interim Design, above the Ministry of Defence's Very Good expectation.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Phil Brown

Managing director, Major Nuclear Capital Programmes, Babcock International

Leading delivery of the 10 Dock programme

Luke Pollard

UK defence minister

In office; has said acceleration options for Devonport docks are under review

Organizations Involved

Babcock International Group

Defence contractor and dockyard operator

Awarding authority for the 10 Dock main works

Babcock runs Devonport Royal Dockyard and is delivering the 10 Dock rebuild on behalf of the Ministry of Defence's Defence Nuclear Enterprise.

KierBAM Joint Venture

Construction joint venture

Main construction contractor for 10 Dock

A joint venture of Kier Group and BAM Nuttall, formed to deliver the civil engineering scope at Devonport's 10 Dock.

Defence Nuclear Enterprise

Ministry of Defence organisation

Funder and client for the 10 Dock programme

The Ministry of Defence body responsible for the UK's nuclear deterrent and submarine capability, which funds the Devonport works.

Office for Nuclear Regulation

UK nuclear regulator

Lifted enhanced supervision at Devonport in March 2026

The UK's independent nuclear safety and security regulator, which oversees licensed work at Devonport.

Costain and Mott MacDonald (CosMott)

Engineering joint venture

Delivery partner to Babcock on the 10 Dock redevelopment

A joint venture of Costain and Mott MacDonald acting as delivery partner to Babcock on the 10 Dock rebuild at Devonport.

Timeline

July 2022 November 2026

10 events Latest: 6 days ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

November 2026
10 Dock design wins BREEAM Excellent rating
Latest Award

Costain and Mott MacDonald, Babcock's delivery partner on the project, say the design stage scored 90.59% and an Excellent rating under BREEAM Infrastructure, above the Ministry of Defence's Very Good target.
6 days ago
BAM confirms the award publicly
Statement

Royal BAM Group publishes details of the KierBAM contract, including the nuclear-licensed components and the multi-tonne caisson.
November 3rd, 2026
Babcock sets out Sherford logistics hub plans
Statement

Babcock says an 18.8-acre site near the A38, potentially covering 30,000 square metres, would consolidate logistics work now spread across more than 30 locations and support submarine maintenance at Devonport. The project is at concept design stage, with infrastructure and logistics capability targeted to support warfighting readiness by 2029.
November 3rd, 2026
Babcock awards the main construction contract
Contract

Babcock hands KierBAM a circa £600m MOD-funded contract for the dock's water-retaining boundary and associated infrastructure, moving the programme into main construction.
November 2nd, 2026
September 2026
Minister says acceleration under review
Statement

Defence minister Luke Pollard tells Parliament that options to speed up work on docks 10 and 14 are being examined.
September 2026
First Astute-class submarine docks at upgraded 15 Dock
Milestone

The Ministry of Defence says work on 15 Dock at Devonport allowed the first successful docking of an Astute-class submarine, and that it is looking at ways to speed up work on docks 10 and 14.
September 2026
June 2026
KierBAM hunts for more than 100 recruits
Hiring

The joint venture advertises engineers, site supervisors and administrators for the next phase at Devonport.
June 14th, 2026
March 2026
Nuclear regulator lifts enhanced supervision
Regulation

The Office for Nuclear Regulation ends 12 years of enhanced supervision at Devonport.
March 2026
November 2023
Ministry of Defence promises 2027 completion
Statement

The ministry tells Parliament that submarine berth infrastructure, including 10 Dock, will be finished in 2027.
November 2023
July 2022
KierBAM wins the civils framework
Procurement

Babcock awards KierBAM the NEC4 framework contract for main works civils on 10 Dock, covering mechanical, electrical and control systems inside the new dock building.
July 19th, 2022

Scenarios

Ministry of Defence sets a new 10 Dock completion date beyond 2027

Likely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Navy Lookout, which noted the 2023 parliamentary answer promised 2027 and the November 2026 announcement gave no date at all

The 2027 target came from a written answer to Parliament in November 2023. The contract announcement did not repeat it, and main construction is only now starting. A formal reset is the most likely next administrative step, whether through a written statement, a parliamentary answer or an updated departmental plan.

10 Dock programme cost passes £1bn

Possible Resolves by Q1 2030

Discussed by: Navy Lookout, which put the wider Babcock contract at about £750m and noted the neighbouring 9 Dock rebuild overran by roughly £283m

The £600m award sits inside a wider Babcock contract reported at about £750m covering the dock boundary plus surrounding buildings and infrastructure. Nuclear-licensed civil works at Devonport have a record of overrun, and the scope includes rock anchors, subways and a caisson that can each move a cost estimate.

10 Dock takes its first submarine for maintenance by 2029

Uncertain Resolves by End of 2029

Discussed by: Babcock, which says the upgraded dock will support deep maintenance of the Royal Navy's submarines

The point of the rebuild is submarine availability, not the building. If main works finish and the dock is certified for nuclear work, a first deep maintenance period would follow. The 9 Dock precedent suggests roughly three years of construction once heavy work starts.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1999–January 2002

9 Dock rebuild, Devonport (1999–2002)

The dock next to 10 was rebuilt to take the Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines. The job ran about three years and finished roughly £283m over budget.

Then

The dock returned to service in January 2002.

Now

It became the cost and schedule benchmark against which later Devonport dock work is judged.

Why this matters now

Same site, same class of nuclear-licensed civil engineering, same overrun risk. It is the reason analysts are sceptical of a one-year build at 10 Dock.

March 2026