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TfL to award Silvertown Tunnel contract as court lifts suspension order
22 Oct, 2019 By Rob Horgan
Transport for London (TfL) has been given the go-ahead to award its £1bn Silvertown Tunnel contract, after a High Court suspension order was lifted.
It comes after losing Silver Thames Connect (STC) submitted a Part 7 Claim to the Technology & Construction court, preventing TfL from awarding the contract. A Part 7 Claim relates to procurement and automatically results in a legal suspension of the defendant’s right to award a contract.
While STC is still pursuing damages, it has consented to the suspension order being lifted, paving the way for contracts to be signed with wining bidder Riverlink consortium (consisting of Ferrovial subsidiary Cintra, Bam PPP PGGM, Macquarie Capital and SK E+C).
STC – comprising Hochtieff, Dragados and Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras – launched its claim after TfL named the Riverlinx consortium as preferred bidder in May.
As part of its court submission, STC claims that it “should have been the winning bidder” on the grounds that it “scored significantly better than Riverlinx on price”.
It also accused TfL’s procurement process of being “flawed, in breach of the principals of equal treatment […] and manifestly erroneous”.
In its official defence, TfL denies the allegations that it disregarded its duties in relation to running a fair procurement process.
A Transport for London (TfL) spokesperson said: “We are pleased that Silver Thames Connect (STC) has consented to TfL’s application to Court to lift the automatic suspension on award of the Silvertown Tunnel contract.
“We will now progress the arrangements for award of the contract to the Riverlinx consortium as soon as possible.
“Once open, a new twin-bore tunnel, located within the extended Ultra Low Emission zone, will remove barriers for people in east London needing to cross the river for work or leisure, enable the introduction of new bus services and improve the reliability and resilience of the local road network.”
New Civil Engineer understands that contracts will be signed within the next month, paving the way for construction to begin.
The news comes amid growing pressure on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to pause the project and conduct a full review of the tunnels environmental impact.
Last week, the leader of Greenwich Council called for a “full review of alternative options” including a DLR extension, increased cycling and pedestrian links across the River Thames as well as tolling of the Blackwall and Rotherhithe tunnels.