AtkinsRéalis has been named as a supplier on the UK Government’s Construction Professional Services 2 framework, giving it access to major public sector infrastructure and building programmes over the next four years.
The framework is potentially worth an estimated £340m to the company and covers professional services across the full project lifecycle. AtkinsRéalis’ appointment includes work linked to the built environment, defence estate, national security priorities, nuclear decommissioning, flood risk, asset management, and wider public infrastructure delivery.
Construction Professional Services 2, also known as RM6356, replaces the previous RM6165 framework. It gives public bodies access to technical advisory services across dedicated lots, including general infrastructure and built environment, architectural services, project management, commercial management, defence, defence enhanced, international work, nuclear, flood risk, and asset management.
Professional services frameworks increasingly shape how complex infrastructure programmes are defined before construction begins. Engineering consultancy, project controls, technical assurance, commercial management, environmental assessment, digital modelling, and procurement planning all influence whether major schemes can move from approval into delivery.
AtkinsRéalis said the framework covers the full lifecycle of public sector projects. That breadth is important in sectors such as defence, nuclear, transport, energy, and public estate renewal, where early design choices can affect cost, maintenance, safety, and compliance for decades.
The UK is carrying a heavy infrastructure workload. Grid reinforcement, nuclear decommissioning, defence estate renewal, flood resilience, transport upgrades, public building programmes, and energy system change are all competing for engineering capacity. The proposed Western Link 2 HVDC route illustrates the breadth of modern infrastructure work, combining offshore cable, underground cable, converter stations, substations, planning, and public consultation.
Framework appointments do not guarantee project delivery, but they determine which organisations can be called upon when departments and public bodies need support. They also provide a procurement route at a time when public clients are under pressure to move faster while maintaining technical assurance.
The advisory role is becoming more demanding as infrastructure projects absorb requirements around carbon, resilience, cyber security, digital asset data, safety legislation, supply risk, and long-term maintainability. Public clients are also working through cost inflation, skills shortages, consenting delays, and scrutiny over major programme performance.
Defence and nuclear work add further complexity. Secure sites, regulated assets, hazardous environments, ageing infrastructure, and specialist construction interfaces require experienced engineering teams and strong governance. Flood and asset management work carries its own demands as climate adaptation places more weight on modelling, monitoring, and lifecycle planning.
Complex projects rarely fit inside one discipline. A single programme may require civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, digital, environmental, safety, commercial, and project controls expertise. Coordinating those inputs early can reduce later conflict between design intent, buildability, cost, and operational performance.
Capacity remains a constraint across the market. Winning a place on a framework creates access, but delivery depends on having the right people available when call-off opportunities arise. Nuclear, energy, defence, and major infrastructure programmes often draw on overlapping skills pools, increasing competition for experienced engineers and project leaders.
AtkinsRéalis’ position on the framework gives it a strong route into the next phase of public sector infrastructure work. The larger test for the market will be whether procurement routes, technical advice, and public investment can be converted into projects that are consented, financed, engineered, and delivered at the pace now required.
