£900M contract for infrastructure for nuclear weapons testing and manufacturing to be tendered

The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is seeking market engagement on a £600M to £900M contract to provide professional services for the delivery of infrastructure related to the testing and manufacturing of nuclear weapons.

As part of its Future Infrastructure Programme, AWE has released a prior information notice (PIN) seeking guidance on tendering a contract to deliver new office accommodation, laboratories, testing facilities, site services and advanced manufacturing facilities.

While a PIN is not an official start of procurement, AWE has revealed a number of details regarding how the contract will work.

The framework is anticipated to last for 10 years with a total value between £600M and £900M.

The organisation is attempting establish a multi-supplier client-side partnership framework as part of the programme. The framework partners will provide professional services in support of management and delivery of this portfolio and a future multi-supplier delivery partnership who will deliver the future works.

The Future Infrastructure Programme will grow significantly over the coming years and AWE is looking to expand its supplier base to meet the programme's increasing demand. The arrangement will create a client partnership to act effectively as a capable owner and trusted government partner to plan and design the investment portfolio.

When the official invitation to tender is released, AWE is expecting it to be separated into three lots. Each of these lots will relate to construction management services but it has not yet been specified how they will differ.

While no information in the PIN states what each lot will look to procure specifically, AWE has released information regarding three strategic service types the framework will look to provide advice on.

The first of these covers engineering design and project assurance services, including supporting business case production and providing assurance and scrutiny of the delivery partners’ work in relation to design, construction, commissioning and handover.

The other two services to be covered by the framework are programme and project management services and productivity services.

Due to the diverse portfolio and range of projects, AWE is actively seeking to continue to work with its existing partners, as well as partners from outside the nuclear industry.

Those looking to take part in the market engagement exercise have until 4pm on Friday 17 May to register their interest.

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