£19m PFI school deal on again

A £19m private finance schools deal in south Wales is under starter's orders again, although delays in the bidding process will still set the project back by two years.Bridgend County Borough Council is finally to send best and final offer documents to Balfour Beatty/Babcock and Brown and HBG - the only contenders left in the hunt for the Maesteg Comprehensive School project.The council put the scheme on ice while Nuttall undertook reclamation work on a former coal washery in Maesteg that will become the site of the new school.The scheme was further delayed by problems with land acquisition and compulsory purchase orders. A project source said: "Nuttall is cracking on with the remediation work, so we now hope to invite best and final offers in September."The preferred bidder is expected in the New Year, with a start on site scheduled for autumn 2004.The school, for 1,200 students, is expected to open in 2006 - two years later than the original deadline.Interserve also pitched for the deal, but its bid fell by the wayside early last year.