New £1.2bn framework gets 80 expressions in interest in 4 hours

A new £1.2bn framework has been inundated with 80 expressions of interest in just four hours when it was advertised last week.

Lee Parkinson, project manager of the Yorbuild framework, designed to deliver construction work in Yorkshire and Humber, said the scheme had seen huge levels of interest since the OJEU notice was posted at 2pm on Friday.

The framework, a collaboration between Scarborough Council, East Riding of Yorkshire, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, and Leeds City Council, is looking to recruit both national players and SMEs to deliver regional improvements.

It consists of regional subframeworks in the north, south, east and west, each of which are split into a further six lots.

The two-stage tender process will see pre-qualification questionnaires in on 19 January. A shortlist will be announced in March 2009, before appointments are made in September and October.

The framework, which will deliver £1.2bn worth of investment a year, will last four years, with the possibility of a two-year extension.