Confirmation of funding by DfT in October 2011 allowed the project to proceed to procurement. The procurement process commenced in October 2011 with the publication of the Contract Notice in the OJEU.
The stages in the procurement process and the timetable are shown in the illustration below.
Due to the complexity of the project, and the potential for bidders to propose different technical, financial and legal solutions, the Council will use the procurement regulations’ competitive dialogue procedure to procure the project. The procurement process is expected to take two years.
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| PROCUREMENT STAGE 1: Final planning and preparation | October 2011 – January 2012 |
| Issue OJEU Notice | October 2011 |
| PROCUREMENT STAGE 2: Prequal period | October 2011 – December 2011 |
| PROCUREMENT STAGE 3: Selection of bidders (evaluation of PQQ responses) | December 2011 – January 2012 |
| Issue Invitation to Participate in the Dialogue (ITPD) | January/Febuary 2012 |
| PROCUREMENT STAGE 4: The Dialogue (and Draft Final Tenders) | Febuary 2012 – January 2013 |
| PROCUREMENT STAGE 5: Final tenders | January 2013 – March 2013 |
| PROCUREMENT STAGE 6: Evaluation and bid clarification | March 2013 – May 2013 |
| PROCUREMENT STAGE 7: Preferred bidder | May 2013 – October 2013 |
| CONTRACT AWARD | October 2013 |