Contract notices for London's £16bn Crossrail project are expected
to be published within weeks after Transport for London provisionally
agreed on procurement methods for the project.
Under the agreed plans, an overall delivery partner will be
appointed to project manage the scheme in a similar role to that
provided by the consortium of CH2M, Laing O'Rourke and Mace (CLM) for
the 2012 Olympics.
And in a change to the original plans, design
contracts for the tunnelling, stations and railway systems are expected
to be packaged up into frameworks for greater flexibility.
Under
the original plans, the design packages were split into three
geographical areas including the central tunnel between Paddington and
Liverpool Street; the western section to Maidenhead and eastern section
to Shenfield.
But these packages are expected to be brought
together into a central framework. "This will give us access to a wider
pool of resource and give us more flexibility in how the works are
packaged," said a source close to the project.
"We want a framework where people can come together in a more
integrated way. For example if one of the firms is struggling for
resource there is a risk of the work not getting done on time so we
need the flexibility to draw on other resources."
The Crossrail
team will also "learn lessons" from the Olympic Delivery Authority and
CLM. "We will clearly be looking to learn lessons such projects," said
the source.
"We've already seen that it takes time to fully work
out the rules and responsibilities of the Delivery Partner to ensure
there is no duplication of responsibilities with the client. We will be
working to ensure there is greater clarity."
Should the
procurement process be formally agreed this week, contract notices for
detailed design will be published soon on the European Union Official
Journal.
In a written answer to the shadow transport minister
Theresa Villiers, Tom Harris this week revealed that legal consultants
had been paid £8.6M, financial consultants £1.3M, and £2.8M had been
paid to 'other' consultants, including engineering consultants, since
2003/4.
Source : NCE
