Scottish Water has gone out to tender with a major contract for asset delivery partners and primary designers to deliver its forthcoming capital works programmes between 2027 up to 2039 with an estimated value of £9 billion.

The water company is seeking to appoint suitably experienced Asset Delivery Partners and Primary Designer(s) to deliver its upcoming SR27 and SR33 programme of capital works. SR27 is the regulatory period spanning from April 2027 until March 2033. SR33 is the regulatory period spanning from April 2033 until March 2039.

Scottish Water is aiming to award the procurement by March 2026 – the contract will run for a fixed period of seven years until March 2033 with an option to extend for a further six years until March 2039.

Successful bidders will be required to utilise Scottish Water’s Supply Chain and Specialist Frameworks.

To deliver the capital investment programme the utility is creating an Enterprise, an advanced partnering supply chain model which includes Asset Delivery Partners (ADP) and Primary Designer(s) (PD) working together in high performing integrated teams to deliver programmes of work.

The Enterprise model will have a dynamic outcome-based set of measures, with partners incentivised against service sub-programme and Enterprise outcomes – Scottish Water will have embedded resources within the Enterprise. There will also be minimum business performance thresholds in the form of KPIs.

The Enterprise model procurement is being tendered in two separate Lots - Lot 1 Primary Designer/s, Lot 2 Asset Delivery Partners - as follows:

Lot 1 - Primary Designer(s) – up to £1.3 billion

Scottish Water is seeking to appoint a strategic partner(s) for the provision of Primary Designer services. This will provide assistance with the strategic programme development, design and delivery of its investment programme and will cover improvement works associated with all water and wastewater assets across Scotland.

This may include new assets, renewals, modification, maintenance, refurbishments, extensions and enhancements to existing assets.

Estimated contract value across the framework for a 13 year period, expected to commence April 2026 is in the range of £600 million to £1.3 billion.

The Primary Designer will be engaged to provide strategic support, studies, design and technical services at pre, during and post construction, ensuring successful delivery of infrastructure and non-infrastructure programmes. Key requirements include:

• enhance and maintain a standard design and product library driving process engineering, Nature Based Solutions (NBS) and low carbon products and processes
• maximise the use of repeatable designs and processes to deliver projects ensuring successful delivery of infrastructure and non-infrastructure programmes of work.

The appointed primary designer(s) is expected to work with Scottish Water and Enterprise Partners over the duration of this agreement to develop effective collaboration, which may include the negotiation of incentive mechanisms, sharing of risk, co-location with multiagency teams and secondment.

The Primary Designer will be required to:

• assess the most effective way to deliver outcomes i.e. prioritises no build, less build / alternative solutions, efficient build
• work with the supply chain to identify and develop standardisation and alternative low carbon opportunities
• agree Asset Delivery Partner or supply chain led elements of the design.
• support the water company with asset planning and asset strategy/policy and standards.

Lot 2 - Asset Delivery Partners – up to £7.7 billion

Scottish Water is looking to appoint Asset Delivery Partners (ADPs) which will be accountable for driving programme/project delivery, liaising with the Enterprise PrimaryDesigner and Integrator functions to perform Design & Build activities, while adhering to standardised designs. The ADP will be required with managing day-to-day activities during construction and coordinates the works with Scottish Water Operations until the point of asset handover.

Scottish Water is seeking to appoint suitably experienced Civils, Infrastructure and MEICA (Including Process Engineering capability) Asset Delivery Partners to deliver its SR27 and SR33 programme of capital works under an outcome-based Enterprise model. Works may include new assets and renewals, surveys and inspections, modifications, complex maintenance, refurbishments, extensions, and enhancements to existing assets.

More specifically, the programmes of work based on the SR27 forecast include the design and construction of complex and non-complex civil engineering, mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, telemetry, control, instrumentation, and commissioning as required.

This support will include works associated with new assets, renewals, modification, maintenance, and refurbishment of water and wastewater networks including mains rehabilitation and lining, sewerage networks, pumping stations and process works including mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and commissioning.

Successful bidders must be able to safely carry out Principal Contractor responsibilities and will be required to evidence their experience and capabilities in design and build activities for large and complex projects as well as operational requirements e.g. major water bursts, major sewer collapses and leakage support.

The scope of the ADP (Lot 2) will be further divided into three sub-lots:

• 2a) Civils - indicative works include creation of above or below ground civil structures e.g. storm tanks and treated water storage tanks.
• 2b) Infrastructure - indicative works include installation of new pipework, replacement pipework, refurbished pipework or major repairs of water and sewer pipework, and water pipe lining.
• 2c) Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Control and Automation (MEICA) – including Process Engineering, Commissioning Engineering and Smart Technology/Internet of Things (IoT).

Bidders must only bid as single entities and not as joint ventures or consortium.

The framework will be awarded from 2026-2033, with extension options up to 2039. The estimated net value range of this procurement is put at between £4 billion - £7.7 billion. Successful partners will get an allocated share of the work as part of the advanced partnering approach.

Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 6 January 2025 – click here to access the tender documentation