Mersey Gateway competitive dialogue begins
The competitive dialogue phase of the Mersey Gateway Project has begun.
The project team has now held initial meetings with the three shortlisted bidding consortia, and will be working closely with each of them over the coming months.
The aim is for each of the three bidders to submit their detailed proposals by the end of 2012, with an announcement about a preferred bidder likely to come in the spring of 2013.
The value of the construction phase of the project, including land, is estimated at £600m.
Cllr. Rob Polhill, Leader of Halton Borough Council, said: “The rest of this year will be critical in shaping the final detail of the bidders’ proposals, and we will be working closely with each bidding group to ensure that we are able to maintain quality on this project whilst continuing to deliver value for money for the public purse.”
Steve Nicholson, Mersey Gateway Project Director, said: “The quality of the initial submissions was excellent, and I am looking forward to working with each of the bidding groups to enable them to pull together their detailed proposals.”
Last month Halton Borough Council announced the identities of the three shortlisted bidders, who are (in alphabetical order):
- · Balfour Beatty, Bouygues Travaux Publics, Egis Projects consortium, comprising equity members Balfour Beatty plc, Bouygues Travaux Publics and Egis Projects,
- · Merseylink consortium, comprising equity members Macquarie Capital Group Limited, Bilfinger Berger Project Investments Limited, Vialia Sociedad Gestora de Concesiones de Infraestructuras S.L. and FCC Construcción S.A., and
- · MGL consortium, comprising equity members Galliford Try Investments Limited, Hochtief PPP Solutions GmbH and Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras S.A.
