MOD unveils future industry arrangements for Defence estate
The Ministry of Defence has announced the shape of its future commercial plans for the Defence estate across the UK.
The Defence estate is a vital resource for supporting and training the Armed Forces [Picture: MOD/Crown Copyright 2009
The new structure of industry contracts, recently approved by the MOD Investment Approvals Board (IAB), are being developed by Defence Estates (DE), which provides a key role in supporting the Armed Forces and their families.
The contracts are worth an estimated £5bn over 10 years, exclusive of additional major projects and “injected” work funded separately. Contracts will be awarded to successful bidders in a phased approach between late 2011 and 2014.
The announcement follows an 18-month programme of consultation with industry, private sector clients, wider Government, and a range of military and civilian users of Defence facilities.
The Next Generation Estates Contract (NGEC) programme has built on lessons learnt and best practice across Government and industry, to develop the future commercial arrangements for the provision of estate maintenance, refurbishment and new-build accommodation for the Armed Forces, whilst obtaining the best possible value for money.
The plans include UK-wide contracts for the Defence Training Estate and military housing, four regional prime contracts capable of delivering maintenance and some core works to Defence establishments. In addition a number of regional “frameworks” will establish communities of pre-approved suppliers for major new-build projects.
David Olney, the acting chief executive of Defence Estates, said:
This approval is the culmination of much hard work across the department, and provides the springboard to put in place improved contracting mechanisms which will service the needs of our Armed Forces until 2020 and beyond. We are working with industry to deliver best value from every pound spent.
Steve Rice, the head of the NGEC programme, added:
We fully recognise the importance of a well-managed estate to the operational outputs of Defence, and the role that our commercial partners can play in delivering that.
“We are determined to work with industry, wider Government and our customers to develop the best possible mix of commercial arrangements that ensures delivery to our Armed Forces, whilst also obtaining the best possible value for money.”
DE will now proceed with developing the structure of the individual contracts. In autumn 2010 it will start inviting companies to submit expressions of interest (EOIs).
More detail is available by following the related links to DE’s NGEC pages on the right-hand side of the page >