Scots harbour re-advertised

Contractors are being asked to prequalify a second time for a £35m harbour deal near Stranraer, Scotland.

The Cairnryan port development project first came up for grabs almost a year ago, but it has now been re-advertised.

The precise reasons for re-posting the deal are hard to dig out, but a project source said: "We decided to change the procurement route from restricted procedure to negotiated and the only way to do that was to re-advertise the whole scheme.

"If you look closely at the new notice, you'd be hard-pressed to spot the difference -- it's 99% the same as the original."

P&O European Ferries and Stena Line have formed a joint venture for the scheme. Cons-truction works include a new ro-ro berth consisting of a quay wall, jetty and a twin deck linkspan for P&O ships, plus a new berth for Stena Line vessels.

[Contract Journal, 20 September 2006, p10]