Contractors around the world are being invited to bid for the first £11.8bn tranche of civils work on HS2 with the publication today [Friday] of the pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) in the Official Journal of the European Union.
According to an HS2 spokesman, selected bidders will then receive an Invitation to Tender in spring 2016, with the contracts due to let in spring 2017 – after the project receives Royal Assent.
The OJEU notice confirms that there will be seven civils packages in the Phase 1 London-to-Birmingham line, valued at £5.4bn to £8.6bn.
But it also reveals that the 50-mile section of track to extend the line from Birmingham to either Crewe or Stoke – which was originally due to form part of Phase 2 of the project – will instead be offered to the successful Phase 1 bidders.
The HS2 spokesman told Construction Manager that the move still had to be ratified by the government, which is also due to announce in October whether the line will serve Stoke or Crewe.
But if the acceleration of this section is approved, it could open in 2028, just one year after the London-to-Birmingham line in 2027. The rest of Phase 2, extending the line to Manchester and Leeds, is not due to be delivered until 2033. The extra package is valued at £1.8bn to £3.3bn.
"We would emphasise to the chancellor the strategically significant nature of this project and, in his rush to secure foreign investment, he risks undermining the ability of UK firms to benefit from the work."
Dr Nelson Ogunshakin OBE, Association for Consulting and Engineering
“We’re looking to bring a small part of Phase 2 forward, as in engineering terms it’s fairly straightforward, there are no major tunnelling operations for instance. Once we get the decision [from the government] we can get the ball rolling on that,” said the spokesman.
The line-up of contractors reported to be forming consortia to bid for the works has a strong international flavour, with three contractors from Spain, as well as names from France and the Netherlands. Likely bidders include France’s Eiffage, which has never worked in the UK before.
But the government has also specifically held the door open to Chinese contractors to bid on the project, with chancellor George Osborne announcing the start of the PQQ process during an official visit to China and referring to a “golden age of cooperation between our two countries”.
The government is currently organising an “HS2 partnering day” to give Chinese companies an opportunity to meet UK firms and establish potential partnerships to join up on bids.
But Dr Nelson Ogunshakin OBE, chief executive of the Association for Consulting and Engineering, said that encouraging overseas participation in UK infrastructure projects could have long-term implications for the UK industry’s capacity.
Welcoming news of “the government’s continued strong commitment to this vital project”, he added: “We would, however, emphasise to the chancellor, the strategically significant nature of this project and, in his rush to secure foreign investment, he risks undermining the ability of UK firms to benefit from the work.
“We must ensure that UK engineering companies do not miss out on what would be an outstanding opportunity to develop the skills of their workforce, increase their expertise, and export what they have learnt to the global market. This will be more difficult to accomplish if a deal was struck to tie foreign investment to the delivery of the project.”
Meanwhile, Duncan Green, managing partner at multi-disciplinary consultancy Pick Everard, also made a plea to HS2 to embed supply chain diversity and sustainability criteria in the project, and ensure that the Tier 1 contractors due to be selected via today’s PQQ are contractually committed to delivering these.
He told Construction Manager: “We’re eager for there to be a visible route for the supply chain, clear pathways to see how they can be involved in the project going forward, especially as the project moves out of London to the midlands and north.
“When they place main contracts, the organisations taking the project forward should make those opportunities clear. There should be safeguards built in, for instance on employing local SMEs, apprenticeship training and other issues, to the procurement and assessment process.”
