THE tendering process has begun to appoint a contractor to prepare 89-acres of the Inverness Campus site for its future as a world-class facility in the north of Scotland.
Works, scheduled to begin in the spring of 2011, will provide infrastructure, essential services and will create the landscape for a lasting legacy that brings the region’s education, business and community together, including facilities for Inverness College UHI, the Scottish Agricultural College and UHI, the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands.
Details of the tender process and how to apply can be found on the HIE website http://www.hie.co.uk/about-hie/working-with-hie/procurement.html or the Public Contracts Scotland website www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/
The deadline for contractors registering an interest and returning completed Pre-Qualification documentation is 12 noon on Tuesday 19th October 2010.
The HIE board approved up to £25million in September 2009 to deliver, over five years, the first phase of the development at Beechwood Farm.
Inverness College’s new £75m premises are scheduled to open in 2014 at the site, providing a full range of further and higher education courses. It will share the prestigious location on the eastern edge of the city with new northern headquarters for the Scottish Agricultural College, Phase IV of the Centre of Health Science, a social enterprise hotel and top-class sporting facilities.
HIE envisages that the site will be a premier business location for inward investment when fully developed. It has the capacity to support up to 6,000 jobs over the next 30 years, and generate more than £38m for the regional economy every year.
Ruaraidh MacNeil, Inverness Campus project director, commented: “We would be delighted to hear from local contractors across the Highlands and Islands interested in the project, including smaller firms who may wish to collaborate in order to bid for the work.
“This is one of the largest projects to be undertaken by HIE in decades and is considered to be of national importance by the Scottish Government.”
John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, chaired the first Inverness Campus Forum in September this year.
The Forum is designed to bring the key partners together to look at how to maximise the educational, economic, and operational opportunities at each stage of the development.
Currently, members include the Scottish Government, HIE, The Highland Council, the Scottish Funding Council, UHI, the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands, Inverness College UHI, the Scottish Agricultural College, University of Stirling, NHS Highland, Centre for Health Science, Albyn Housing and the Calman Trust.
Says a spokesperson: “The tender process, which is seeking a major contractor to implement the design scheme, is expected to last six months. As is required by EU Procurement legislation there will be a European-wide open competitive tendering process.”
Inverness Campus is a major partnership project led by HIE and has its own website: http://invernesscampus.co.uk/
ENDS
[Photographs are available to accompany this story, please see www.scottishviewpoint.info/invernesscampus to download]
Notes to editor:
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) delivers the Scottish Government’s economic strategy by supporting the sustainable growth of ambitious businesses and communities across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
You can visit our website at http://www.hie.co.uk and follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/highlandsandislandsenterprise
HIE’s activities contribute to a comprehensive range of measures introduced across the public sector as part of the Scottish Government’s Economic Recovery Plan.
For more information, visit: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Economy/economic-situation
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Contact: Kim Thain
Phone: 01463 244238
Email: kim.thain@hient.co.uk
Website: http://www.hie.co.uk
