The Highways Agency has told contractors that it is ending the current tender process for asset support contracts in Areas 1, 13 and 14 after some of the elements of the bids “raised concern”.The Agency doesn’t believe the bids would support the delivery of the contracts, which are worth more than £800 million in total. The ASCs cover the south west, north west and Yorkshire/north east area.A Highways Agency spokesperson said: "Asset support contracts are a key part of the Agency’s ability to successfully deliver its objectives.“We have decided to discontinue this procurement following stage one finance evaluation. Some of the elements of the bids have raised concern and we are of the view of that they will not support the delivery of the contract over the next five years. “We want to take the opportunity to return to ITT to ensure a proper balance between the quality criteria and price. This will provide all tenderers with the opportunity to submit tenders to successfully deliver the future needs of the Agency and the successful delivery of a significant programme of maintenance and improvements required between now and 2020."Last year the Highways Agency abandoned long-running bid races for asset support contracts in Areas 4 and 12.