O’Rourke scoops £100m Scottish schools project

Laing O’Rourke is understood to have beaten off Morrison in a two-horse race for a £100m PPP schools deal for Perth and Kinross Council. Meanwhile, just two consortia are now left in the battle for Oldham’s £57m PFI education project.

The Perth and Kinross scheme, which first surfaced at the end of 2003, features: two secondary schools; two combined nursery, primary and secondary schools; a shared campus for two primary schools; and one campus for a nursery and primary school.

The project also includes community facilities, plus a new community library/museum in Kinross. The first schools are expected to be completed in two years’ time.

A third runner, the Gateway group (Miller/Ogilvie/A&L King/Forth Electrical Services) pulled out of the bidding process.

The two groups now left in the contest to gain admission to Oldham’s £57m PFI schools deal are Kier’s Academy Services consortium and Balfour Beatty’s Transform Schools group.

This means that the client has expelled a pitch from Japanese firm Kajima, the third firm shortlisted to work up a bid.

The project to rebuild two schools within the borough is running about six months behind schedule. The preferred contractor from the best and final offer contest is now not expected to be named until October, instead of the original April 2005 date.

The project involves relocating the Radclyffe secondary school in Chadderton and the Failsworth school to the south of Oldham onto a single site.

Construction work is expected to start around the middle of next year and take around 18 months to complete.

Kajima’s failure to make the grade on the scheme will come as another blow to the company, which has already taken an £80m hit on existing schools contracts – due in part to being fined for delays on its £21m Haverstock school PFI scheme in north London.