Birmingham lines up £400m highways design team

Birmingham City Council has named a four-strong consultant line-up to drive its next wave of highways and infrastructure schemes under a framework worth up to £400m.

The eight-year Transportation and Infrastructure Professional Services Framework will see AtkinsRéalis, Jacobs, Mott MacDonald and Pell Frischmann deliver multidisciplinary design and advisory services across the city.

The deal covers everything from highways engineering and urban planning to air quality, drainage, traffic systems and wider infrastructure consultancy.

A core £240m of the total pipeline is earmarked for Birmingham, with the remaining spend available to other public bodies across the Midlands via access agreements.

The framework is structured as an open model under the Procurement Act 2023, allowing the council to refresh suppliers over time rather than lock into a fixed roster.

Birmingham attracted eight bids for the work, cutting the field to four at final stage.

Despite no SMEs making the framework itself, the council will require a minimum 20% of all work to be subcontracted to smaller firms through the main suppliers’ supply chains.

The agreement will run under NEC4 terms, with contracts expected to be signed later this month following the standstill period.

Original Source: Birmingham lines up £400m highways design team | Construction Enquirer News