30.03.17
CH2M pulls out of HS2 Phase 2B development contract
CH2M has confirmed that it has withdrawn its interest in the Phase 2B development contract for HS2, the company has revealed.
The £170m bid was awarded to the engineering firm in February after an 11-month competitive bidding process, but the signing of the contract was delayed after rival bidder Mace threatened legal action over HS2 Ltd’s handling of the procurement.
Mace commented that it had “never seen a procurement process like this”, and argued that conflict of interest was only one element of why it had launched an enquiry into HS2’s conduct.
This latest development caps off a miserable few days for HS2, as last Friday RTM revealed that the award of £8.6bn worth of civil contracts had been pushed back to June.
Now it has been confirmed that the chair and chief executive of CH2M Jacqueline Hinman wrote to HS2 Ltd chairman David Higgins to formally advise him of the company’s withdrawal from the project.
A spokesperson for CH2M said: “CH2M has demonstrated all appropriate measures taken throughout to ensure the integrity of the procurement process. Notwithstanding these efforts, we have taken the decision to alleviate any further delays to this critical national infrastructure project which could ultimately lead to increasing costs to UK taxpayers, as well as to our firm.
“CH2M’s reputation reflects excellence earned by placing the interests of our clients and communities first, best exemplified by our delivery of vital programmes like Crossrail, the London 2012 Olympics, the most sustainable to-date; HS2 Phase 1; and the Thames Tideway and Lee Tunnels.”
A spokesperson for Mace stated that they were looking forward to meeting with HS2 leaders tomorrow to hear answers about the procurement process.
“It’s important to note that conflicts of interest was only ever one element of our concerns,” the spokesperson said. “With so many questions being asked by the public and parliament, the only sensible thing to do now is to look at the whole tender process again.
“In our 26-year history, working on some of the UK’s most iconic projects, we have never brought a case to the High Court or seen a procurement process run like this.
“We continue to closely review our next steps with our legal team and don’t rule anything out.”
An HS2 spokesperson said:"As they have announced, CH2M have decided to withdraw from the Phase 2b Development Partner bid process, a decision which we welcome.”
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