Northern Ireland Water has opened procurement for the IF109 Integrated Partnerships Framework, estimated at £10.5 billion excluding VAT and covering programme management, design, engineering, construction and commissioning of its capital investment programme. It runs for six years from 1 October 2027 and can stretch to 12, with requests to participate due on 18 November.

The framework is due to run from 1 October 2027 to 30 September 2033, with NI Water able to add three two-year extensions at its sole discretion. It succeeds IF105, which expires in May 2028 and was worth £1.7 billion when awarded in 2020, so the new estimate is roughly six times larger.

It will support the PC28 investment programme and later regulatory periods, and is split into four lots: minor civil pipelaying, minor civil works, minor mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, control and automation (MEICA) and process works, and major civil, MEICA and process works.

Lot 1 covers minor civil pipelaying and network rehabilitation, valued at £150 million, with typical projects up to £3 million. Lot 2 covers minor civil works on tanks, chambers, reservoirs and treatment works civils, valued at £1.35 billion, with typical projects up to £10 million.

Lot 3 covers minor MEICA and process works in operational treatment, pumping and process environments, at £3.55 billion with typical projects up to £10 million.

Lot 4 is the largest at £5.45 billion and targets large, complex projects needing integrated civil, MEICA and process capability, such as major treatment works, pumping stations and service reservoirs. Typical values start above £1 million and generally exceed £10 million, although smaller multidisciplinary packages can also be awarded under it.

Lots 3 and 4, both built around MEICA and process engineering, account for £9 billion, about 86 per cent of the estimated total.

The framework will have no more than 18 suppliers. Applicants may bid for all four lots, but no supplier can be awarded more than three.

The structural driver is NI Water’s PC28 capital programme and the need for capacity across civil, pipelaying and MEICA delivery. For the sector, the lot structure splits work by project size and discipline, so bidders must weigh which lots fit their capability within the three-lot limit.

Source: newcivilengineer.com / niwater.com / thorntonandlowe.com