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

  • VIDEO: Balfour starts M3 bridge upgrade in UK following demolition
    November 23, 2016
    Balfour Beatty has started bridge work over the M3 motorway as part of a €205 million upgrade on highway connecting London to south coast ports. Balfour recently demolished the Woodlands Lane Bridge between junctions 2 and 3 near Windlesham on the M3 which runs from the capital to Southampton and Portsmouth. A new bridge is being constructed Balfour Beatty is working for the agency Highways England to reduce congestion this section of the M3 that handles more than 130,000 vehicle journeys every day.
  • UK: Currie & Brown acquires Sweett Group
    September 8, 2016
    Following the offer by Currie & Brown, a leading physical assets management and construction consultancy, to acquire Sweett Group plc, it was today announced that Sweett has been delisted. The combined entity will employ approximately 2,200 employees in over 60 offices in the Americas, Europe, India, the Middle East, the UK and the US. The cost of the purchase was not given.
  • New road reduces Carlisle congestion by 20%
    May 11, 2012
    Carlisle, in north-west England, has seen as 20% reduction in congestion since the opening of the city’s US$284million (£176m) Northern Development Route in February this year. Around 10,000 vehicles a day are using the new road, which is broadly in line with the predictions made by highways engineers when building a case to construct a new route connecting the A595 with the M6 around the western flank of the city. Traffic counters positioned on the new road show an average of 9,583 vehicles a day along the
  • Fugro consulting for Amsterdam Zuidasdok project
    March 2, 2017
    Fugro is providing the consultancy services for the Zuidasdok project in Amsterdam. The firm will work with the ZuidPlus partners, which are Fluor, Heijmans and HOCHTIEF. The Zuidasdok project is of major importance as it is one of the largest infrastructure developments in the Netherlands. The project includes developing the A10 South highway, which comprises widening the route and contructing a cut and cover tunnel for a portion of it. The A10 South is one of the busiest highways in The Netherlands and