Backers of the £600m Mersey Gateway project have unveiled a shortlist of three bidders for the massive bridge project.
The three shortlisted bidders are:
Balfour Beatty, Bouygues Travaux Publics, Egis Projects consortium
Merseylink consortium, comprising Macquarie Capital Group Limited, Bilfinger Berger Project Investments Limited, Vialia Sociedad Gestora de Concesiones de Infraestructuras S.L. and FCC Construcción S.A.
MGL consortium, comprising Galliford Try Investments Limited, Hochtief PPP Solutions GmbH and Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras S.A.
The three were chosen by Halton Borough Council from the expressions of interest received from six groups in December.
The trio will now be invited to compete for a contract to design, build, finance and operate a new six-lane toll bridge over the River Mersey between Runcorn and Widnes and associated work in the towns.
The value of the construction phase, including land, is estimated at £600m.
Cllr. Rob Polhill, Leader of Halton Borough Council, said: “We have attracted world class construction groups that have come together to compete for this prestigious contract.
“I look forward to announcing the eventual winner and the commencement of construction later next year.”
Steve Nicholson, Mersey Gateway Project Director, said: “We were delighted with the quality and the quantity of the submissions we received.
“Each of the six groups we evaluated met our requirements but we set out to limit the procurement process to three bidding groups and we have maintained this approach so that we can reduce bid costs whilst running an effective competition.
“During the next year the project team will work with the shortlisted bidders to develop proposals that deliver quality and value for money on behalf of the taxpayer.”
