E4i emerges as favourite to build Inverclyde schools

After year-long talks with three contractors, a preferred bidder has now surfaced for an £80m PPP schools deal north of the border.

Inverclyde council has gone for the E4i (Education for Inverclyde) group to deliver its four-school programme. The consortium is made up of Miller Construction, facilities management company Forth Electrical Services and legal firm Cyril Sweett.

The news means expulsion for two rival groups. These are the Inverclyde Community Partnership (Barr/Dawn Construction/Equion) and a joint venture of Hochtief and local contractor Tulloch, now part of the Rok stable.

The next stage is for designs for the schools to be fully developed before financial close, which is due in August.

Work on site is due to start shortly afterwards, with overall completion scheduled for 2011.

The job entails delivering two new secondary schools and two new primary schools.

One of the secondary schools will be built on the 63,000m2 site of the existing St Columba's secondary school and will replace the Greenock Academy and Gourock High school.

The other will be constructed on the 55,000m2 site of the present Notre Dame High School and cater for a maximum of 1,200 students.

A new primary school for 429 pupils will be built in south-west Greenock on a 16,000m2 site, which includes the existing Aileymill Nursery School, the Larkfield Community Centre and various open areas.

Finally, the new Greenock East primary school will be constructed on the 21,000m2 site of the St Kenneth's primary school and accommodate 495 pupils.