Contractors together employing more than 3,200 people with bases or locations around Scotland have been chosen to support the delivery of Scottish Water’s new £3.5 billion investment programme.
Selected following an extensive procurement process, the 58 small to medium sized businesses form a framework of rural contractors which can be used to support Scottish Water and its construction Alliance partners in the delivery of construction and maintenance projects for the benefit of customers between now and 2021.
• They possess a wide range of skills and roles including pipe fitting, pipe laying, electricians, electrical and mechanical fitters, welders, labourers, water and waste water repair squads.
• Their knowledge and expertise can be put to good use in supporting projects in rural areas across Scotland.
Geoff Aitkenhead, Executive Director Capital Investment at Scottish Water, said:
“These 58 companies are our rural framework contractors, which form the final pieces of the jigsaw as part of the partnering arrangements to deliver our new £3.5 billion, six-year investment programme.
“They provide us and our Alliance partners with a pool of resources to deliver further improvements to water and waste water services in Scotland for the benefit of our customers.
“The vast majority of these small to medium sized firms have bases or locations in and around communities. This will provide us with vital local knowledge with skills honed and retained in the community.
“The new investment programme will help support vital employment in the Scottish economy while enabling Scottish Water to build on the significant improvements made to water and waste water services in recent years. This will ensure our customers continue to receive fresh, clear drinking water, while at the same time benefitting from one of the best value water and waste water services in the UK.”
Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, said:
“I warmly welcome Scottish Water’s efforts to engage small and medium-sized businesses to deliver projects in rural parts of Scotland. Providing high quality, skilled jobs are key to supporting Scotland’s wider economic growth, particularly in our rural areas.
“I recognise that the provision of excellent water services are absolutely crucial for our rural communities too. The fact that SMEs delivering projects for Scottish Water will be able to use their local knowledge will be important to ensure that services continue to be first-rate, best value for money and suitable for the future needs of rural communities.”
A full list of the companies can be found at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/about-us/media-centre/latest-news/09072015-rural-framework
Background
Scottish Water is now commencing its 2015-21 investment programme, which will see both maintenance and improvements to existing assets – such as pipes, pumping stations and water treatment works. To deliver this, a new delivery model has been developed which involves working in partnership with three new Alliances and our in house delivery team, Managed Delivery. The rural framework contractors will enable smaller firms to support the Alliances and in-house delivery team at a local level by ensuring efficient delivery of improvements to these assets.
• Caledonia Water Alliance, a partnership of Morrison Utility Services and Aecom, is our water infrastructure alliance partner. They are responsible for the delivery of investment projects to improve our water supply networks.
• aBV Alliance, a partnership of Black and Veatch and Byzak (part of Amey), is our waste water infrastructure alliance partner. They will be responsible for investment projects to improve our waste water networks.
• Efficient Service Delivery (ESD), a joint venture between Galliford Try, MWH Treatment and Black and Veatch, has been named as our non infrastructure alliance partner. ESD will oversee the delivery of projects including work on reservoirs, water treatment works and pumping stations, which will help build on the significant improvements made to water services for the benefit of Scottish Water customers in recent years.
• Managed Delivery is Scottish Water’s in-house capital delivery team that directly manages contractors to deliver significant non-complex maintenance work.
The rural framework contractors companies were chosen after a stringent procurement process which started in 2014 with eight market days held in Sumburgh, Kirkwall, Inverness, Stornoway, Pitlochry, Dumfries and Kelso.
