The contract will cover the Highways Agency’s roads in all of the southwest apart from Cornwall and parts of Devon, which are covered by a separate contract. It will ‘go live’ from July 2012.
The contract is worth up to £80m a year over the five year contract duration - £400m in total. All revenues will be split equally between Atkins and Skanska.
The new contracts are expected to deliver ‘substantial savings’ to help reduce the national budget deficit, the Highways Agency said, while still maintaining the roads ‘to high standards’.
Nationally, the new style ASCs are replacing the existing managing agent contractor (MAC) contracts, and will form the basis of the delivery of maintenance and improvement services for most of England’s motorway and trunk road network.
Key features of the new contracts include:
- maintenance standards that are ‘outcome based’ and less prescriptive about how and when work is delivered
- affordable levels of service, with appropriate quality but no reward for over-delivery
- incentives for innovation and efficiency, including the opportunity for contract extensions
- simplified pricing mechanisms with a schedule of rates and ‘year on year’ cost reduction mechanism
- a higher cost threshold for works, to allow more procurement through the asset support contract rather than by separate tender
- managing technology maintenance and improvement works through the main contract, for more efficient and joined up delivery.
Highways Agency network development and delivery director Derek Turner said: “I believe that these new contracts deliver the best possible value for money without compromising safety. This is because we are selecting only the most capable and best performing suppliers through competitive, effective and timely commercial procurement.
“The contracts may have changed, but our essential requirements remain the same – a safe and well maintained road network. Contractors will retain their incident support capability, but will be better able to deploy their staff more flexibly. Our winter fleet will work as usual to keep the network open during periods of severe weather. We and our contractors always put the safety of road users first when prioritising maintenance and improvements and we will continue to do so."
Southwest regional division director Mike Wilson added: “I am looking forward to working with Atkins Skanska to manage and maintain our network in the southwest. More than 90% of the Agency’s expenditure is delivered through contractors and that is why we need to work with an efficient, effective and professional supply chain to drive down costs and deliver the highest quality service. I am confident that this new contract will do just that.”
The Highways Agency is due to award the second asset support contract, for roads covering parts of the northwest, later this year - with all of the Agency’s regional maintenance contracts moving to ASCs by 2015. In the meantime, key ASC principles will be ‘retrofitted’ to existing contracts so as to deliver cost benefits as soon as possible, the Highways Agency said.
Atkins is also incumbent on the Highways Agency's MAC for the east of England.
Atkins' chief executive officer Uwe Krueger said: "This is an important win for our UK business and it is the first time the Highways Agency has procured work under their new asset support contract (ASC). Our success has been due to our ability to provide industry-leading skills at a competitive price and we believe it positions us to play a key role in helping to shape the management of the UK's road network moving forward."
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