Scotland gets its own dedicated lot, following signs of ‘clear commitment’ from Holyrood

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Scotland is to be awarded £400m-worth of work through the National Civil Engineering and Infrastructure framework, details of which have been published today.

Scape announced the second generation framework, due to be re-procured next year to deliver major civil engineering and infrastructure projects across the UK, would be beefed up by the creation of a dedicated Scottish lot to a total of £2bn.

Divided into two lots, the rest of the UK – England, Wales and Northern Ireland – will see £1.6bn of work.

Scape said the increased value and the division into two lots “responds to the growing pipeline of major infrastructure projects across the UK”.

The framework has been developed following engagement with local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and other public sector bodies, as well as the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA). 

Bidders can tender for individual lots or both, Scape added, and the framework would also be open to consortium bids.

Scape Procure managing director Victoria Brambini said the decision to create a separate lot for Scotland “reflects the clear commitment of the Scottish government to further their investment in infrastructure in a way that supports the local economy”.

“Since January 2015, the National Civil Engineering and Infrastructure framework has been commissioned for almost 100 major projects across the UK and has delivered high levels of social value, including 82% of supply chain spend within 10 miles of projects, 70% local labour within 20 miles and 94% of suppliers to the framework partners being SMEs,” she added.

“We expect the new framework will deliver equally positive outcomes for the public sector and potentially increased impact.” 

Scape said the current framework, led by Balfour Beatty, was procured with an expected value range of between £1bn-£1.5bn and is on target, running until January 2019.