Defence Estates chief executive Ian Andrews has announced that the Ministry of Defence expects to let £300m of work through prime contracting in the next two to three years.

Andrews, who said his organisation was committed to the procurement route, also confirmed details of the pilot projects for the new procurement route.

As revealed in Building (28 May), these are:

  • a submarine jetty at Faslane, West Scotland
  • accommodation at Wimbish, Essex
  • property management for part of the MOD's housing estate.
Andrews also confirmed that a major airfield lighting project, as well as airfield pavement and facilities management across multiple sites, will follow as prime contracts.

He said: "The clear message I want to give is that this [prime contracting] train is leaving the station. If you want a share in what we are doing, you will need to embrace new disciplines." Andrews said Defence Estates will soon be publishing new forms of contract and bid evaluation criteria for civil servants and the industry.

He admitted that the MOD has been poor at defining its requirements in the past and said that it had, until now, devolved too much responsibility to consultants.

In future, he said, as Defence Estates moves towards "smart" procurement, its staff will want to see clear evidence of established supply-chain management when considering using firms from the industry.

"This may seem daunting, but it's no more than the norm for other industries," he said.