Central Beds very pleased with contract interest

Central Bedfordshire council has claimed it is “very pleased” with bidder interest in its long-term waste treatment contract, after revealing yesterday (July 20) that 10 companies have entered into the procurement for the delay-hit Bedfordshire Energy and Recycling, or BEaR, project.

The local authority said that each of the as-yet-unnamed companies had completed the pre-qualification questionnaire, providing information about the company and evidence to demonstrate they were financially sound and could deliver what the council requires.

I'm very pleased with the numbers of bidders keen to invest in Central Bedfordshire, particularly under the current economic climate

 
Cllr Budge Wells, Central Bedfordshire council

The questionnaire represents the first stage of the competitive dialogue procurement process under which Central Bedfordshire is looking to develop treatment infrastructure to cater for up to 75,000 tonnes-a-year of waste over the 25-to-30 year lifetime of the contract.

While Central Bedfordshire said it was on track for its timetable of having a facility up and running by April 2016, the BEaR project has been beset by a series of setbacks and funding issues, as well as both of the two other councils originally involved in the project – Bedford and Luton borough councils – withdrawing from the partnership due to concerns over escalating costs.

Since the two other councils ended their involvement, it has now been formally renamed the Central Bedfordshire Energy and Recycling Project.

Despite the set-backs, the council advertised the contract in June 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story), and councillor Budge Wells has welcomed the level of commercial interest it has received so far.

“I'm very pleased with the numbers of bidders keen to invest in Central Bedfordshire, particularly under the current economic climate. With this many bidders in competition there is great potential for a range of solutions to come forward,” he said.

“We look forward to working with the waste industry over the coming months to develop solutions which will divert as much waste as possible from landfill and are keeping an open mind as to what the final solution might be,” he added.

Proposed solutions

Central Bedfordshire stressed that no information on proposed solutions or sites has been requested from bidders at this stage and that it does not expect to make a final decision on the choice of technology and site of any facility until 2012.

However, the contract notice advertising the procurement included ancillary works and services a bidder may look to include in their application, which were: an organic waste processing facility; a waste transfer station; redevelopment to the four household waste and recycling centres; and, a highways depot.

A spokesman for the council today (July 21) said that the council was now planning to evaluate the pre-qualification questionnaires until September 2010, with a timetable on the project's website envisaging the submission of outline solutions – at which stage a short-list is generally named – between September 2010 and February 2011.

He added that the shortlist was expected to number between five and eight bidders.

The appointment of a preferred bidder is expected to be made between January and March 2012, with the aim of signing the contract itself in April 2012.