Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2023-03-15
Buyer: Department for Infrastructure
Country: UK
Contract type: Works
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 45221110 | 45233000: Construction work for highways and roads
Estimated value: 600000000 GBP

Technical requirements: Građevinski radovi, građevinski radovi na temelju i građevinski radovi na površinskom sloju autocesta, cesta
The A5 Western Transport Corridor (A5 WTC) project is for the design and construction of over 80km of dual carriageway from New Buildings to Aughnacloy via Strabane and Omagh.
The contract for each Lot comprises two phases: Phase 1, working with the Employer's designer to provide construction expertise to optimise the design and buildability prior to the publication of statutory orders, supporting the public inquiry process and planning construction; and Phase 2, taking over responsibility for the detailed design and undertaking construction of the works. The contract for each Lot is based on the NEC3 suite of contracts with the Professional Services Contract Option E (time based contract) terms and conditions governing Phase 1, and the Engineering and Construction Contract Option C (target contract) terms and conditions governing Phase 2.
The statements immediately above in this section IV.1.1) are part of the VEAT notice template and, therefore, cannot be amended. They do not apply to the A5 WTC contracts and are not the purpose of this VEAT notice. This notice is published for transparency purposes to explain the reasoning and relevant facts of modifications to the A5 WTC contracts that have been made, or are planned to be made, by the Department for Infrastructure. The Department for Infrastructure has reviewed these modifications and considers them to be permitted under Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 under categories that do not require the publication of a Regulation 51 notice.
Since the time of the original competition to appoint contractors in 2009, events have occurred that have resulted in significant delays to the A5 WTC project due to matters beyond the control of the contracting authority. These include delays to the conclusion of the planning process and related statutory procedures, the removal of a significant undertaking to provide a contribution to the funding of the project, the absence of a Minister to take a decision to proceed with the project and the absence of an Executive Committee of the Legislative Assembly. Therefore, it has not been possible to adhere to the originally anticipated delivery programme and the main construction works have not yet commenced.
Significant delays are possible on any major civil engineering project during the design, planning, development, and construction of the works. The Contracts from the NEC3 suite, which are suitable for the design and construction of public infrastructure works, include provisions for dealing with delay events. However, the delays referenced above also mean that the contract documents require some modification to align with laws, policies, standards, and specifications that have changed since contract award. In addition, some changes were required due to the corporate restructuring of the joint ventures (JVs) for Lots 1, 2 and 3. Further some modifications were required to allow for works that were formerly part of Phase 2 to take place during Phase 1.
All historic and intended A5 WTC contract modifications are lawful modifications as permitted by Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR). For transparency purposes, this notice sets out:
Details of the historic and intended modifications are provided in the ‘Additional information’ section of this notice. None of the modifications are expected to change the economic balance in favour of the contractors.
Additional Information is available at the following link: https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/infrastructure/A5_Western_Transport_%20Corridor_additional_information.pdf


Winner: BbM (Balfour Beatty, BAM Civils FP McCann Joint Venture)
Award value: 600000000