Thames Water has gone out to tender with a major contract to put a Programme Partners Framework in place for its Strategic Resource Options projects worth an estimated £150 million – the water company has also this week separately tendered a £300 million SRO Technical Partners Framework.
Thames Water’s current portfolio of SRO projects includes the Southeast Strategic Reservoir Option (SESRO), Severn to Thames Transfer (STT), London Water Recycling (LWR) projects, Thames to Affinity Transfer (T2AT) and Thames to Southern Transfer (T2ST).
The water company now intends to establish a PP Framework primarily to support its SRO Program. This is the first phase of a longer-term procurement strategy to establish the professional services supply chain that TWUL needs to support its wider business.
The procurement is for the PP Framework only and relates to Phase 1 of the procurement strategy. Existing TWUL professional services frameworks are not impacted by the procurements outlined in the notice.
The successful tenderers will interface with several other partners that will be procured separately to support the SRO Programme as it develops.
Thames Water said it is looking for leading expertise within the key disciplines outlined below to accelerate the delivery and management of this high-profile programme.
- General Programme Partner Support Services
- Cost Planning & Estimating
- Schedule Management
- Risk Management,
- Procurement support & market engagement
- Assuring Contract Administration
- Development of Programme Management Methodology and Practice
- Information Management and business systems
- Project Assurance and review
- Technical controls
- Interface management
- Requirements management
- Business case development
- Team performance
- Third Party Agreements
The PP will need to demonstrate extensive experience in programme management to enable it to support and management across the SRO portfolio which will include large complex infrastructure schemes being progressed under the current UK planning environment.
The PP will be required to provide programme management and controls expertise to oversee and advise up all aspects of preliminary design and the pre application engagement with the Planning Inspectorate and to assist with the development / management of planning applications (likely to be a Development Consent Order (DCO)) including assisting with stakeholder engagement and all elements of the pre consultation and planning application processes.
Thames intends to award the first work package from the PP framework agreement immediately following the appointment of framework suppliers. Due to the complexity and phasing of projects within the SRO programme, the utility’s intention is that the appointment as a Programme Partner to one or multiple SRO projects will be for the duration of that particular scheme.
The duration of the PP framework will be up to 8 years.
Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 11 August 2023 – click here to access the tender documentation.