National Highways has announced the 12 firms awarded a place on its £1.3bn Pavement Delivery Framework, which it said will promote the use of low-carbon materials and ensure a greater share of work is delivered by small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
The new contracts cover the supply of materials, plant and labour to carry out road surfacing and construction works for National Highways’ Operations Division.
The framework is the third iteration of National Highways’ pavement framework and is split between nine lots, with a total of 12 suppliers appointed across the framework.
Four of the suppliers are SMEs, which National Highways said represents an increase on the previous framework and accounts for more than £100m, which is more than 8% of the total anticipated spend.
The government-owned company said this calculation was based on a complex allocation of work between suppliers across regions, super-regions and lots, adding that ‘by lot’ work allocation percentages are subject to potential yearly fluctuance based on the previous year’s performance, as measured by its collaborative performance framework.
The new framework also sees an increased focus on carbon reduction, with bidding organisations committed to annual carbon reduction activities within the timeframe of the contract.
National Highways designated warm mix asphalt as the contract’s ‘default material of choice’. It said this delivers up to 15% carbon savings per tonne in comparison to the previous default pavement material and is more durable and quicker to lay.
The 12 suppliers are:
- Aggregate Industries UK Limited
- Associated Asphalt Contracting Limited
- Breedon Colas Limited
- DSD Construction Ltd
- Eurovia Infrastructure Limited
- FM Conway Ltd
- Galliford Try Construction Limited
- Hailsham Roadways Construction Co Limited
- Hanson Contracting
- Multipave NW Ltd
- Tarmac Trading Limited
- Tripod Crest Limited
National Highways did not give a date for the commencement of the framework but said it will support it into the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS 3), which runs from 2025-2030.
Roads minister Richard Holden said the Government was ‘delivering £1.3bn of investment alongside National Highways’. This misrepresents the nature of a framework, which provides a total estimated value with no guarantee of any level of spending, and is financed from five-year RIS budgets.
National Highways’ executive director of operations, Duncan Smith (pictured), said: ‘Engaging an increased range of organisations from across the industry is a hugely positive step for us, allowing us to expand our supply chain and improve our resilience.
‘Having greatly reduced turnover requirements to encourage applications from SMEs, we are delighted that a number of these lots have been awarded to comparatively smaller organisations. We’re also happy to be working with some organisations that we haven’t worked with previously, and we look forward to building these new relationships.’
National Highways said it has also incorporated its social value requirements into this framework, which will mean wider benefits for customers and communities as a result.
