Rivals outraged by Bechtel plans

Rival consortia bidding for the £7 billion London Underground public-private partnership are threatening legal action if Bechtel wins project management work on all three contracts.

Bechtel is already in a consortium with Amey, Jarvis and Hyder for the two deep-level contracts. But it has emerged that Bechtel will project manage the sub/surface package for Railtrack if Railtrack's exclusive bid is successful.

Controversy is already raging around LU's decision to hold exclusive talks with Railtrack for the sub/surface lines. Bechtel's involvement has fuelled that controversy.

Rival consortia feel that the rules of engagement are being bent to allow Bechtel to bid as part of one consortia and play an influential role in another.

London Underground has said that no company can bid as part of two consortia. It has also confirmed that Railtrack will not be allowed to bid for the two deep-level contracts.

But a rival consortium member said: "Technically Bechtel hasn't broken LU's rules. But it raises huge questions about whether LU has breached European procurement and competition rules and our lawyers are looking at that. If Bechtel is successful in bidding for the two deep surface lines and project manages the subsurface lines, we have a monopoly."

Another consortium member said LU could be out of its depth with negotiations with Railtrack and Bechtel. He said: "Bechtel is famous for not being prepared to take any risks. Railtrack has a reputation for being an extremely tough negotiator.

"It is a dangerous combination for London Underground to deal with. The danger is they could get too far down the line before they realise what they have got into. They should have played the rest of the market along for a bit longer," he added.

Another consortium contractor said: "We have been excluded from bidding for the sub/surface contract but Bechtel has been allowed to be part of all three contracts. It may not be technically bidding for the sub/surface lines with Railtrack but you can be sure it will have a big input into how the deal shapes up."

A Railtrack spokeswomen said: "It would be inappropriate to comment while detailed discussions with the Government and LU are ongoing."

A Bechtel spokesman said: "Not a single contract has been awarded yet and so the issue is highly speculative.

"And we do not comment on speculation," he added.