Design talks start on £600m Mersey bridge

The three consortia in the hunt for the £600m Mersey Gateway project have started the year-long competitive dialogue phase of the bidding process.

The client’s project team has now held initial meetings with the three shortlisted bidding consortia and the aim is for each of the trio to submit their detailed proposals by the end of the year.

An announcement about a preferred bidder is due in the spring of 2013.

Cllr. 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 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.”

The three shortlisted bidders are:
•
Balfour Beatty, Bouygues Travaux Publics, Egis Projects consortium, comprising equity members Balfour Beatty plc, Bouygues Travaux Publics and Egis Projects,
•
Merseylink consortium, comprising equity members Macquarie Capital Group Limited, Bilfinger Berger Project Investments Limited, Vialia Sociedad Gestora de Concesiones de Infraestructuras S.L. and FCC Construcción S.A., and
•
MGL consortium, comprising equity members Galliford Try Investments Limited, Hochtief PPP Solutions GmbH and Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras S.A.