Construction firm Basil Read said on Thursday that it had been awarded a contract to design, build, operate and transfer an airport on the Island of St Helena.

The client was the Government of St Helena and the project would be funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), a department of the British Government.

Construction was set to take place over a 48-month period at a contract value of approximately R2.7 billion, the group said.

The operation of the airport would continue for a further period of ten years at a contract value of approximately R450 million.

The design phase of the contract is scheduled to commence immediately.

The Basil Read group's order book following this award was valued at R12.5 billion, it said.

By 14:09, shares in Basil Read had advanced 30 cents or 2.17% to R14.10 on the JSE