£4 billion civils framework opens

Contract details for a new £4 billion civil engineering national procurement framework have been published by public sector procurement agency Scape Group.

The Scape Civil Engineering framework will cover local authority and public sector projects - comprising works to education facilities, council housing, health centres, offices and transport, military and commercial buildings.

Of the £4 billion worth of contracts available, £3.25 billion covers projects in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a separate £750m framework for Scotland will be managed and operated by SCAPE Scotland.

The framework will operate for four years until 2027, with an option to extend for a further two years, and will involve “all types of Civil Engineering and Infrastructure works and associated services”, which could include design and other services as required to realise the work.

UK-based Scape said, “We are pleased to announce that we have submitted a Contract Notice to procure our next generation civil engineering framework serving England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which is fully compliant with the UK’s procurement regulations.”

The company, which is now speeding up the delivery of more than 1,800 publicly funded projects across the UK, is urging civil engineering contractors - whether it be individual organisation, consortia or joint ventures - to apply for the framework.

It said, “SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] will sit at the heart of the new frameworks, with the successful principal contractor expected to engage with an extensive supply chain of local businesses.

“The framework has been designed to facilitate better access for small companies to major public sector contracts they might otherwise not have been able to bid for, while also allowing public organisations to procure local specialists.”

Those interested in securing a place must complete and submit a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) by 12.00pm on Friday 25th March 2021.

Shortlisted contractors will then be invited to tender for the framework, and will have until July 2022 to send in their tender submissions.

The successful bidders will be announced in November 2022, two months before Scape’s current framework ends, in January of 2023.

For more information, visit: https://www.scape.co.uk/