Bouygues UK has been named construction partner by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to build the first specialist children's hospital for the East of England.

The new hospital will bring together expertise from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) with pioneering research from the University of Cambridge in a new five-storey 35,000m2 building based at Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the largest campus of its kind in Europe.

The hospital will combine mental and physical healthcare with world-leading life sciences. CUH says Staff will care for the whole child – their health and well-being, individual educational needs and their family.

Spread over six floors, the hospital will include 108 inpatient beds, 16 paediatric intensive care beds, 42 day-case beds, seven operating theatres, imaging and diagnostics plus a hospital school.

Matt Allen, director of new hospital construction at CUH, described the appointment of a construction partner as a "major milestone" and said the team was delighted to be working with Bouygues UK.

"Bouygues UK is a first-class contractor with proven expertise in building and delivering excellent healthcare infrastructure within a collaborative environment,” he said. “This makes them an ideal construction partner to deliver such an important project. Together we can now get straight down to work in finalising our design and plans and ensuring best value for money under an initial pre-construction services agreement.”

Bouygues Construction recently delivered the new Cavendish Laboratory for the University of Cambridge and has delivered more than 400 healthcare facilities globally, including the major new cancer and surgery centre at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH).

Philippe Bernard, chair and CEO Bouygues UK, said: “We are honoured to lead on the construction of this pioneering project which embodies our commitment to innovation, sustainability, and building for life. We look forward to working closely with all partners to bring this ground-breaking vision to life, setting new standards in healthcare for children.”

The hospital has been designed by Hawkins\Brown in partnership with White Arkitekter and Ramboll. Mace is providing project management services on the project with EDGE leading on cost control.