MOD announces bidder shortlist for UK training estate contract
Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has published details of the four bidders to be shortlisted for a new national contract to manage its UK training estate. The contract is being developed and procured under DIO’s Next Generation Estate Contracts (NGEC) programme.
The National Training Estate Prime contract is worth up to £950 million, covers approximately 200,000 hectares, and will provide services ranging from managing air weapons ranges to providing laundry services or clearing snow and ice.
Key sites will include Salisbury Plain Training Area, Catterick Training Area, Dartmoor, Sennybridge, and Otterburn. The MOD has also created an option for elements of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association (RFCA) estate to be included in the contract scope.
The shortlisted companies are:
- Babcock Support Services Ltd
- Kellogg Brown & Root Ltd and Balfour Beatty Workplace Ltd
- Landmarc Support Services Ltd
- Serco Ltd, BAE Systems Surface Ships Ltd and Kier Regional Ltd
Colonel Christopher Sloane, Commander Defence Training Estate, said:
“Supporting our armed forces is the top priority for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO). Military training is vital to the success of operations, which is why we need to provide excellent training facilities that enable our troops to learn and develop the skills that are essential if they are to meet their operational commitments at the highest professional standard.
“A sound partnership with industry will be the key to supporting the training requirements of Defence. Industry will play a major role in running and maintaining the training estate, so it is vital that we identify the best possible private sector partner for this significant commercial arrangement.”
Steve Rice, Head of the NGEC Programme, said:
“This contract covers a significant expanse of the Defence estate, including a wide variety of built assets, types of terrain and service outputs, requiring a first-rate prime contractor that is ready to deliver innovation and value for money.
“I am pleased that after a thorough evaluation of evidence submitted by the bidders we have achieved a strong shortlist of contenders; I would now urge smaller businesses to consider where and how they might contribute within supply chains, and to start liaising directly with the bidders.”
Supply chain activities that businesses might like to consider include:
- Range and training area operations: provision of range warden duties, boundary signage, safety radar and surveillance equipment, advice and guidance on use of targets and targetry, provision of target designators and scoring technologies, provision of range communications facilities, provision of portable toilets, and disposal of military debris and explosive ordnance
- Rural estate management: services to the tenanted and hired estate, including rent collection, facility hirings, safeguarding activities such as responding to statutory consultations on town and country planning matters, and snow and ice clearance to maintain access to ranges
- Built estate management: allocation of accommodation, planned maintenance including cleaning, caretaking, waste disposal and recycling, electrical distribution systems,
- Forestry and conservation: long-term management plans for forestry, conservation and include forestry harvesting, scrub clearance, pest and vermin control
- Catering: provision of a full meals service (food and ingredients are supplied under a separate MOD contract) in training camp dining rooms and canteens, and packed and container meals to troops deployed on training areas
- National helpdesk: setting up and operating a 24-hour service covering maintenance and repairs and range bookings, including development and installation of networked hardware system
- Landscaping: maintenance of soft and hard landscaping on ranges (e.g. grass height to enable target visibility), dry stone walling ,and of existing landscaped areas and fencing in built areas,
- Heritage: development and implementation of long-term maintenance plans for Defence sites and assets of cultural and historical significance, and provision of archaeological services
During the evaluation of potential bidders, the NGEC team used electronic tendering software to evaluate the evidence of capacity and capability submitted in pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs). This included financial standing, quality assurance, technical capability, health and safety, environmental management, and equal opportunity and diversity.
Representatives from the four bidding organisations will now be escorted on visits to provide familiarisation with the training estate and training activities, before and during the ‘competitive dialogue’ process that will commence by mid-2012.
Contact details for the shortlisted bidders will shortly be available at: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DIO/OurPublications/CorporateInformation/NgecIndustryDaysAndPotentialBiddersDirectory.htm
ENDS
Further information:
Press enquiries to Tony Moran, Senior Communications Officer 0121 311 3879
or email tony.moran572@mod.uk
Defence internet – NGEC programme: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DIO/WhatWeDo/NextGenerationEstateContracts.htm
Defence Training Estate: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DIO/WhatWeDo/DTE/
Notes to editors
1. Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It is responsible for managing and maintaining land and properties to meet the current and future needs of the MOD and personnel at home and abroad, and to support current operations.
2. Our work includes providing, supporting and improving: operational units; single living and service family accommodation; training areas and historic military sites. DIO actively manages these to ensure the needs of Defence are met, value for money is achieved, our heritage is protected and our environmental goals achieved.
3. DIO was formed on 1 April 2011 when the former Defence Estates (DE) organisation was brought together with other property and infrastructure functions within department to form a single organisation. DIO manages the MOD’s property infrastructure and ensures strategic management of the Defence estate as a whole.
4. Within DIO, the Defence Training Estate (DTE) delivers military training facilities that support and prepare an average of 9,000 military personnel per day for operations worldwide, including deployment to Afghanistan. It spans around 200,000 hectares of training estate, mostly rural estate (two-thirds of the MOD estate), including major training areas (e.g. Salisbury Plain), minor training areas, ranges and camps. It also includes 170 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), 40 Special Protection Areas (SARs), 60 Special Conservation Areas (SCAs), 25 RAMSAR (i.e. wetland of international importance), and 700 Scheduled Archaeological Monuments.
5. The Next Generation Estate Contracts (NGEC) Programme is developing a new suite of contracts for the UK Defence estate, comprising four Regional Prime contracts for hard facilities management, one national and six regional Capital Works Frameworks for construction projects, a National Housing Prime contract, and the National Training Estate Prime contract.
6. The National Training Estate Prime (NTEP) contract is valued at between £450m and £900m over a minimum of five years and a maximum of 10 years. It will replace the current contracts for the Defence Training Estate (DTE) sites. A list of sites covered by the contract is available at: www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DIO/WhatWeDo/NationalTrainingEstatePrimeProcurement.htm
7. Since the original NGEC timetable was published in August 2010 – with a target of replacing the existing UK estate contracts from April 2013 – a number of emerging factors have impacted on the procurement schedule. These include the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), the creation of DIO and the high degree of industry interest shown by industry which led to the evaluation process taking longer than planned. DIO wants to ensure that all NGEC stakeholders – including staff, current contractors, DIO customers and wider industry – have a realistic expectation of the achievable timeframe for these contracts. It is therefore reviewing the NGEC programme timetable to ensure that it reflects the evolving and complex circumstances in which these contracts are being procured.
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