Five councils in south-west Wales have launched a tender for a civil engineering framework worth an estimated £800m over four years.
Carmarthenshire County Council is leading the procurement alongside Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea councils.
The South West Wales Regional Civil Engineering Contractors Framework 2027 will cover infrastructure construction, maintenance and specialist works across the region.
The framework will comprise 16 lots, covering projects ranging from minor civil engineering works worth up to £100,000 to major schemes valued at £3m or more.
Specialist packages will include demolition, road surfacing, public lighting, ground investigations, marine works, traffic management, bridge maintenance and landscaping.
The framework is scheduled to begin on 8 February 2027 and run until 7 February 2030, with an option to extend it by 12 months.
The £800m estimate excludes VAT and covers anticipated spending across the entire framework, rather than a guaranteed pipeline of contracts.
The councils said the agreement would allow contracts to be awarded directly to appointed suppliers or through further competitions.
There will be no limit on the number of contractors appointed to the framework, and no framework management fee will be charged to suppliers.
The procurement includes restrictions on which lots contractors can secure places on.
Firms appointed to the smallest civil engineering resource services lot will be excluded from the specialist work packages and larger civil engineering contracts.
Contractors will also be unable to secure places on the bridge maintenance or landscaping lots alongside the main civil engineering works packages.
The arrangements were designed to separate contractors providing different categories of work, although firms will be permitted to bid for multiple eligible lots.
The framework will also be available to several other public bodies, including Powys County Council, Natural Resources Wales and the Mining Remediation Authority.
CWM Environmental and regional joint committees will also be eligible to use the arrangement, subject to geographical restrictions.
The councils said the estimated £800m expenditure was not guaranteed and would depend on contracts awarded during the framework’s lifetime.
The deadline for tender submissions is 2pm on 26 November, with enquiries closing at 2pm on 19 November.
South West Wales regional civil engineering framework lots
| Lot | Description | Individual contract value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very small civil engineering resource services | Up to £100,000 |
| 2A | Civil engineering works – Pembrokeshire | Up to £1m |
| 2B | Civil engineering works – Carmarthenshire | Up to £1m |
| 2C | Civil engineering works – Neath Port Talbot and Swansea | Up to £1m |
| 2D | Civil engineering works – Ceredigion | Up to £1m |
| 3 | Civil engineering works – all areas | £1m-£3m |
| 4 | Civil engineering works – all areas | £3m and above |
| 5 | Demolition – all areas | Not specified |
| 6 | Public lighting and associated electrical works | Not specified |
| 7 | Lining and road marking | Not specified |
| 8 | Surfacing | Not specified |
| 9 | Ground investigations | Not specified |
| 10 | Marine works, excluding coastal works | Not specified |
| 11 | Traffic management | Not specified |
| 12 | Bridge maintenance and associated infrastructure works | Not specified |
| 13 | Hard and soft landscaping and landscape maintenance | Not specified |
Source: Gov.uk Find a Tender
