A Huawei plan to build a £1 billion research campus in the UK was thrown in severe doubt as The Daily Telegraph reported work is yet to start on the site, despite the vendor setting a deadline to complete the first phase of construction two years ago.

The newspaper claims the company has shelved plans to build the campus as no progress had been made and planning permission for the site is to expire in August.

Huawei told The Daily Telegraph it was still “reviewing” the campus in Cambridge and declined to comment on if it will begin work in the next five months.

Adding further weight to theory the plan is now abandoned, the UK newspaper reported Cambridge council requests for an update on the project has been met with silence from the Chinese vendor.

First phase
Huawei released a statement in June 2020 announcing it had received planning permission from the local authority to build the facility, earmarked to focus on research, developing and manufacturing optoelectronics products.

It said it would invest £1 billion on the first phase, which would see the construction of 50,000 square metres of facilities across nine acres of land which Huawei bought in 2018 for £37.5 million.

However, Huawei’s position in the country dramatically deteriorated since the plan was first announced.

In July 2020, the UK government banned the use of Huawei 5G equipment and operators were set a deadline of until 2027 to rip out existing kit, due to ongoing security concerns about the vendor.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, local councillor Brian Milnes added he had been met with no response from the company about the campus.

“Unfortunately, political matters seem to have taken their toll. The whole project seems to have ground to a halt,” he said.