Doubts over staying power of two groups bidding to build bridge

Published on Monday 30 November 2009 21:54

DOUBTS were raised yesterday about whether the only two bidders for the new Forth road bridge would stay the course as they were both given the green light to tender for the project.

The two construction groups will have to lodge bids for the contract in a year's time, with the winner announced in spring 2011 and work starting on the five-year scheme later that year.

The Forthspan consortium is up against the Forth Crossing Constructors Group for a 900 million to 1.2 billion contract for the new bridge and its approach roads.

The other half of the project cost, totalling up to 2.3bn, includes preparatory work, land purchase, compensation, inflation and contingency for cost increases.

Separate contracts, worth a total of around 60m, will be let for electronic road signs and upgrading a link junction on the M9.

Forthspan comprises Balfour Beatty, Vinci, Bam Nuttall and Morgan Est. As The Scotsman revealed in September, its sole rival is a consortium formed of Scottish firm Morrison Construction, and Hochtief, American Bridge International and Dragados.

Each group also contains four consultants, but they still total fewer than half the original 39 formal expressions of interest lodged with the Scottish Government's Transport Scotland agency, which is in charge of the project.

Industry experts have said other firms were frightened off by potentially having to shoulder unexpected cost increases in the giant fixed-price contract.

They also said questions remained over the Scottish Government's ability to pay for the bridge, which will be publicly rather than privately funded. MSPs have agreed to pay the winning bidder up to 10m towards tendering costs if the project is scrapped.

Charlie Gordon, Labour's transport spokesman, said: "The construction industry is only too well aware of the uncertainty over whether the Scottish Government has the funds to commit to this project."

Fenella Mason, a construction lawyer with the Edinburgh law firm Burness, said: "The industry concern about the Scottish Government's determination to fund this project entirely out of the public purse has not gone away, however often ministers repeat their message they have the funds to finance it.

"The number of bidding consortia to a large degree reflects the industry's scepticism about the funding structure."

Ms Mason also expressed surprise that Transport Scotland had announced yesterday that eight companies had been invited to tender.

She said: "There were not eight contractors each willing to take the entire project risk themselves, hence only two bidding consortia, thereby spreading the risk.

"Indeed, Forthspan expressed their interest in the project as one bidder."

However, transport minister Stewart Stevenson said: "The construction industry has already signalled its enthusiasm for this project and we look forward to receiving high-quality bids from some of the biggest and most experienced construction companies in the world."

The new crossing is required because of main-cable corrosion on the adjacent Forth Road Bridge, which could mean the imposition of traffic restrictions if ongoing repair work is unsuccessful.