The Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) consortium, comprising Dragados, Hochtief, American Bridge International and Morrison Construction, has been named preferred bidder, ahead of Forthspan, the other consortium bidding for the contract, following an 18 month competitive tendering process.
The Forth Replacement Crossing (FRC) is the biggest Scottish infrastructure project for a generation.
FCBC’s successful bid for the design and build contract of £790m at today’s prices, represents a significant saving on the initial estimated cost range of £900m to £1.2bn.
This bid for the principal contract excludes VAT and inflation. By incorporating this bid value and removing the cost of capital charge the FRC project now has a revised total out-turn cost of £1.47 to £1.62 billion. This is a significant reduction on the project’s original estimated cost range of £1.7 to £2.3 billion.
FCBC will be awarded the contract in April, subject to a mandatory standstill period, with construction starting on site soon after. The FRC project is currently on track to be delivered in 2016 and will replace the current Forth Road Bridge as the main crossing for cross-Forth traffic.
Scotland’s finance secretary John Swinney said: "The Forth Replacement Crossing project will be essential in protecting and promoting Scotland’s sustainable economic growth, safeguarding a vital link in the country’s transport infrastructure, protecting thousands of jobs and securing over a billion pounds in economic revenue.
“The successful FCBC consortium includes world class bridge building and civil engineering firms with strong records of successfully delivering similar projects throughout the world.
“It is a testament to the robust competition we put in place that it has delivered a bid representing a significant saving for Scotland’s capital budget. This is yet more compelling evidence that the Scottish Government is managing major infrastructure projects successfully in a way which maximises benefits and minimises cost to the
Mr Swinney added that the announcement of the FRC preferred bidder represented “remarkable progress” since he first signalled a green light for the project to the Scottish Parliament in December 2007.
“The project is on time and ahead of budget and that is a considerable achievement considering both the Bill process and procurement of such a major contract had, necessarily given the issues facing the current Forth Road Bridge, to be run concurrently.”
For further information about this project see Forth Replacement Crossing website.
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