Heathrow signs steel supply agreement with 7 Steel UK

Heathrow has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with 7 Steel UK at the steelmaker's Cardiff facility. The airport says the agreement reinforces its commitment to using UK-made steel as it expands.

It builds on Heathrow's signing of the UK Steel Charter last year. The memorandum is meant to lead to a Framework Agreement and eventually a long-term contract, extending a relationship that has run for more than twenty years.

Over that period, 7 Steel UK has supplied Heathrow with more than 150,000 tonnes of steel, including material used in the construction of Terminal 5. The company will keep supplying the airport's future growth plans.

Expansion is expected to increase demand for UK steel, which Heathrow says would protect jobs and support domestic supply chains. Projections cited by the airport estimate that 60% of the economic growth benefits from building a third runway would fall to regions outside London and the South East, with Wales among those expected to benefit directly from the agreement.

Heathrow estimates its expansion would require up to 400,000 tonnes of steel, roughly a sixth of UK annual production. The agreement signals support for the domestic steel industry.