Birmingham Metropolis Council’s political management has claimed the federal government is ready to “pull the plug” on £600m of funding for a highways contract.

Kier and Canadian agency SNC-Lavalin had been final 12 months invited to tender for the town’s restructured highways PFI contract, protecting capital works and upkeep alongside greater than 2,500km of street and 5,000km of footway.

A earlier take care of Amey, value £2.7bn over 25 years, collapsed in 2019.

Birmingham’s political management has now stated the revised contract “seems set to be scrapped” by chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

In line with the council’s Labour group, below the present deal Birmingham was set to obtain £600m over the following 12 years to improve roads, pavements and road lights.

In an announcement, the political group claimed it was now “broadly believed that the Treasury is ready to tug the plug on the PFI deal by letting the clock run down on the appointment of a brand new subcontractor” earlier than the February 2024 deadline.

It added: “If authorities funding isn’t continued, then a brand new contractor can’t be appointed, and the town will lose the advantage of roughly £600m of funding between now and 2035.”

The council’s chief John Cotton stated: “If the Treasury pulls the plug on the PFI contract this shall be an entire betrayal of Birmingham that will see our metropolis lose out on £600m of funding between now and 2035.

“Time is working out and we want the federal government to take a call within the subsequent week or we threat transport chaos in our metropolis. For the sake of everybody who lives, works or visits Birmingham, I urge the Treasury to honour the PFI contract.”

Birmingham’s cupboard member for transport Liz Clements commented: “If the Treasury abandons our PFI deal, this may have an effect on each single resident in Birmingham. Whether or not you like to stroll, cycle, take the bus or drive, your capacity to journey safely round our metropolis shall be hit.

“This resolution would compromise our capacity to finish the important works required to make sure our residents are secure on the roads and footways. This could even be a blow to our formidable Path to Zero programme, as we’d not have the funds wanted to keep up our strolling, biking and bus precedence infrastructure.”

Kier was appointed as the upkeep contractor for the town’s highways on an interim foundation in 2020, after the earlier association with Amey collapsed.

Amey was appointed in 2010 to a £2.7bn PFI contract over 25 years. However in 2019, it reached a reported £300m settlement with the council to exit the association 14 years early.

Building Information has approached Kier, SNC-Lavalin and the Treasury for remark.

The federal government appointed commissioners to supervise Birmingham this month after the council introduced in September that it was unable to stability its price range. The native authority is going through a legal responsibility for unresolved equal pay claims that might attain £760m.