Cardiff's Bute Avenue on road to PFI

Bids are being invited by the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation to undertake a œ70 million PFI redevelopment of Bute Avenue in Cardiff. The CBDC will enter into a 25-year agreement with the winning consortium.

The proposals include an extension of St Mary Street, construction of a large square south of the London-Swansea railway line and a mile-long landscaped dual carriageway boulevard to the Bay's Inner Harbour.

Bidders will also have to show how they can build and operate a light rail system along Bute Avenue - the system could eventually be linked up with the South Wales Valley commuter lines. The winning consortium is likely to make its money by being given development land alongside Bute Avenue on the new square.

The six shortlisted consortia will submit their proposals by 1 November. The aim is to complete the scheme by July 1999 in time for the Rugby World Cup.

The line up includes:

n United Realty Crowngate/

Taywood/Rust;

n GEC Alsthom/Mowlem/

WS Atkins;

n Ove Arup/Christiani & Nielsen/ Impregilo;

n Balfour Beatty/Siemens/TBI; n Davies Middleton Davies/ Bechtel/Semaly;

nNorwest Holst/Pullman/ W Hocking/Mott MacDonald/ Turner & Townsend.