Skip to main content

Mersey Gateway: Consortia Talks

The competitive dialogue phase of the Mersey Gateway Project has begun. The project team are said to have held initial meetings with the three shortlisted bidding consortia, and will be working closely with each of them over the coming months. The aim is for each of the three bidders to submit their detailed proposals by the end of 2012, with an announcement about a preferred bidder likely to come in spring 2013. The value of the construction phase of the project, including land, is estimated at US$961milli
April 4, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
RSSThe competitive dialogue phase of the Mersey Gateway Project has begun.

The project team are said to have held initial meetings with the three shortlisted bidding consortia, and will be working closely with each of them over the coming months.

The aim is for each of the three bidders to submit their detailed proposals by the end of 2012, with an announcement about a preferred bidder likely to come in spring 2013.

The value of the construction phase of the project, including land, is estimated at US$961million.

Councillor Rob Polhill, Leader of Halton Borough Council, said: “The rest of this year will be critical in shaping the final detail of the bidders’ proposals, and we will be working closely with each bidding group to ensure that we are able to maintain quality on this project whilst continuing to deliver value for money for the public purse.”

Steve Nicholson, Mersey Gateway Project (MGP) director, said: “The quality of the initial submissions was excellent, and I am looking forward to working with each of the bidding groups to enable them to pull together their detailed proposals.”

Last month Halton Borough Council announced the identities of the three shortlisted bidders. They are:

1146 Balfour Beatty, 979 Bouygues Travaux Publics, 2376 EGIS Projects consortium, comprising equity members Balfour Beatty plc, Bouygues Travaux Publics and Egis Projects.

Merseylink consortium, comprising equity members 2378 Macquarie Capital Group Limited, 2516 Bilfinger and Berger Project Investments Limited, Vialia Sociedad Gestora de Concesiones de Infraestructuras S.L. and 1340 FCC Construcción S.A.

MGL consortium, comprising equity members 3932 Galliford Try Investments Limited, 981 Hochtief PPP Solutions GmbH and 3933 Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras S.A.

The centrepiece of the MGP is a new six-lane toll bridge over the Mersey between the towns of Runcorn and Widnes.

In addition to speeding up journey times and improving journey reliability in the region, it is intended to act as a catalyst for investment and bring benefits over four times greater than the investment cost.

The benefits are predicted to include the creation of an estimated 4,640 new jobs through direct employment, regeneration activity and inward investment, and the generation of a conservative estimate of $99million a year in Gross Value Added from the new jobs by 2030.

The existing Silver Jubilee Bridge will also be tolled as part of the project.

It is anticipated that construction work will start within two years, and that the new bridge will take around three years to complete.

As well as the income from tolls, the 5432 Department for Transport will provide $138million in capital grant towards land and remediation and up to $23.3million per year in long-term revenue support for 26.5 years from opening to fund the scheme.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Macquarie funds Mexican highway deal
    February 24, 2012
    Late in 2010 Macquarie Mexican Infrastructure Fund (MMIF), the first peso-denominated fund focused solely on investment opportunities in Mexican infrastructure projects, completed the acquisition of a northern Mexico highway package.
  • Macquarie funds Mexican highway deal
    May 3, 2012
    Late in 2010 Macquarie Mexican Infrastructure Fund (MMIF), the first peso-denominated fund focused solely on investment opportunities in Mexican infrastructure projects, completed the acquisition of a northern Mexico highway package.
  • Colombia sets out major strategy for highway investment
    January 19, 2015
    International interest is strong in Colombia’s infrastructure expansion. Five foreign firms are competing in the country’s 4G road tender process. Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC), Sinohydro, Sacyr, Tradeco and ICA are amongst the companies competing for 10 contracts worth some US$5.88 billion. The first project opening for tender on 19th May 2015 will be for the Puerta de Hierro-Carreto-Palmar de Varela and Carreto-Cruz del Viso routes. The final tender documents for the 10 projects are being pu
  • Montreal’s new Champlain Bridge is in a race against time
    June 8, 2018
    Montreal’s US$3.24 billion Champlain Bridge across the St Lawrence River may not be open on time, according to a report by the independent Auditor General. The 3.4km cable-stayed bridge has two decks supporting three lanes of highway traffic in each direction. A third, central deck supports a mass transit system and a multi-use path. The new bridge will replace the nearby 50-year-old Champlain Bridge which has been deteriorating at an alarming rate. The government signed a contract in 2015 with a private