The Ministry of Defence has invited bids for a UK-wide Defence Estates housing contract worth up to £1.5 billion

The contract will be awarded in late 2012 and will run initially for five years from April 2013, with the option to extend it by a further five years.

The National Housing prime contract will provide repairs and maintenance to more than 49,000 UK military homes, grounds maintenance, and housing construction projects up to a value of £3.93m. Subject to further review the contract could potentially provide additional services, including worldwide housing allocations, an internet self-service facility, move-in move-out services, and provision of furniture and fittings.

The contract has been developed under the wider Next Generation Estate Contracts (NGEC) programme and it will replace the current housing contract for England and Wales and the separate arrangements for provision of housing in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Steve Rice, head of the NGEC programme, said: “It is central to the NGEC programme that we work closely with our customers, industry and wider government, to develop commercial arrangements that reflect best practice deliver cost-effective estate solutions. We have consulted widely on this national housing contract to ensure that from 2013 we are best placed together with our industry partners to deliver a good service for military families whilst providing good value.”

The deadline for PQQs is 17 March and a shortlist of between three and five firms will go through to the next stage.