{"id":11156,"date":"2015-09-26T16:03:28","date_gmt":"2015-09-26T15:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=11156"},"modified":"2015-09-26T16:03:28","modified_gmt":"2015-09-26T15:03:28","slug":"sign-of-the-times-hs2-bidding-process-launched-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=11156","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Sign of the times\u2019: HS2 bidding process launched in China"},"content":{"rendered":"

The bidding process for stage 1 of the HS2 rail project was launched by the <\/u>Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in Chengdu, China this week.<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

HM Treasury writes:
\n<\/u>Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne yesterday (24 September) announced a major new milestone for the government\u2019s High Speed 2 rail project, kick-starting the bidding process for phase one of the mega construction project.<\/p>\n

At least seven new contracts will be opened up to companies, with a total combined value of \u00a311.8 billion.\u00a0 The Chancellor made the announcement at an event in Chengdu, China, aimed at wooing some of China\u2019s biggest investors to be part of the project as well as a raft of other major UK infrastructure projects.\u00a0 Mr Osborne also announced a new \u2018HS2 partnering day\u2019 between British and Chinese firms to explore joining up on bids for contracts, as well as launching the Northern Powerhouse pitch book.\u00a0 The event is part of a wider\u00a0five day tour of China by the Chancellor, aimed at deepening cooperation between the two countries and making China the UK\u2019s second largest export market.<\/p>\n

HS2 forms a major part of the government\u2019s plan to rebalance the UK economy and build a Northern Powerhouse by providing high speed rail services from London to the Midlands, and the North.\u00a0 Construction of phase 1 is due to start in 2017, and when opened will slash the travel time between London and Birmingham from 1 hour 21 minutes, to 49 minutes.\u00a0 Work is also underway on developing plans to transform East-West rail links.<\/p>\n

Speaking while travelling on part of China\u2019s vast network of high speed railways the Chancellor said\u00a0yesterday:\u00a0 This government is committed to rebalancing our economy and building a Northern Powerhouse, and improving transport links and launching HS2 is key to supporting long-term economic growth across the North and Midlands.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I\u2019m here in China today opening the bidding process for construction contracts worth \u00a311.8 billion, which will propel HS2 forward.\u00a0 We are truly entering a golden era of cooperation between our two countries, and it\u2019s crucial that businesses and communities from across the UK feel the full benefit of forging closer economic links with China.<\/p>\n

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said:\u00a0 HS2 provides an excellent opportunity for businesses across the UK with 25,000 jobs created during construction and 3,000 when up and running.\u00a0\u00a0 The start of the procurement process for these significant contracts is a major step towards construction on HS2 getting underway in two years\u2019 time and a massive opportunity to help rebalance our economy long before the trains start running in 2026.<\/p>\n

HS2 Ltd chief executive Simon Kirby said:\u00a0 The start of the civil engineering bidding process is a major milestone for HS2 as we continue to move towards the start of construction in 2017.\u00a0 Over the next decade, the winners of these contracts will go on to build 230km of bridges, tunnels and earthworks and create thousands of jobs across the construction industry.\u00a0 Together we will transform intercity rail travel in the UK, build specialist skills and expertise across the country, create at least 2,000 new apprenticeships and build a legacy to inspire the next generation of young engineers.<\/p>\n

The government is currently organising an \u2018HS2 partnering day\u2019 to give Chinese companies an opportunity to meet UK firms and establish potential partnerships to join up on bids.\u00a0 The Chancellor is also inviting Chinese participation in the HS2 skills college, which is due to open in 2017.\u00a0 A skills-swap programme would allow the UK to benefit from China\u2019s expertise as a world leader on High Speed? Rail, and help Chinese investors better understand the UK market.<\/p>\n

The Chancellor is also encouraging Chinese companies to take part in an HS2 \u2018regeneration tour\u2019, which would involve visiting areas of huge commercial opportunity in London, the Midlands and the North.\u00a0 Investors would have the chance to meet with relevant local authorities and visit station sites.\u00a0 The launch of the bidding process takes the form of a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) for the \u2018Main Civils Works\u2019, ie the surface route and tunnels for phase 1. At this stage suppliers will be allowed to express an interest into all 7 packages.\u00a0 Following the PQQ, successful applicants will be invited to bid for a maximum of 4 packages at tender stage, with a maximum award of up to 2 contracts per tenderer.\u00a0 7 contracts are split over 3 geographical areas (North, Central, South), along the phase 1 route from London to Birmingham. There will also be the option for additional contracts covering the route North of Birmingham, subject to ministerial decisions on this later in the year.\u00a0 The civil contracts are the first tranche of the Main Works Packages and cover surface routes and tunnels. \u2018Tranche 2\u2019 comprises stations, and \u2018Tranche 3\u2019 comprises railway systems. These will be launched in 2016 and 2017.\u00a0 Construction works will commence following Royal Assent of the Phase 1 Hybrid Bill which is currently being considered by Parliament.<\/p>\n

View the press release<\/a><\/p>\n

IHBC NewsBlogs on HS2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The bidding process for stage 1 of the HS2 rail project was launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in Chengdu, China this week.\u00a0 HM Treasury writes: Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne yesterday (24 September) announced a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11157,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11156\/revisions\/11157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}