Pre-procurement Early Market Engagement (EME) activity for the Tilbury-Kingsnorth, Tilbury-Grain (TKRE) 400kV uprating project (new tunnel & HV cable system).

Description

This notice is published to advertise a pre-procurement Early Market Engagement (EME) exercise being conducted by National Grid Electricity Transmission plc (NGET). NGET is seeking feedback from the market through pre-procurement Early Market Engagement (EME) to support and refine its approach to a forthcoming procurement process in respect of the Tilbury-Kingsnorth, Tilbury-Grain uprating project (known as "TKRE"). Economic operators wishing to express an interest for the pre-procurement EME must request a pro-forma Market Engagement Document ("MED"). To obtain the MED please e-mail: box.GP.UKBuyer@nationalgrid.com to request the document. In your e-mail, please state "TKRE - Request for MED" as the subject line. The MED (with all sections completed) should be submitted via email, to box.GP.UKBuyer@nationalgrid.com no later than 13:00 (GMT) on Friday 21 April 2023. The completed MEDs will be used by NGET for pre-procurement EME planning purposes. The market engagement exercise is open to all Economic Operators who are interested (or may be interested) in bidding for the EPC contractor role to deliver the works, directly contracted by NGET rather than as part of a sub-tier contracting arrangement. Please note that invitations to (and information on) future related market engagement events or activities (such as group sessions and further questionnaires) may be provided only to those Economic Operators who have registered by responding to the MED. No further notice of those subsequent events or activities will be given to the wider market. You are therefore encouraged to respond to the MED to register your details and interest. Lot 1: NGET is the largest transmission licence holder within the UK, transmitting energy the length and breadth of England and Wales through 7,000 km of overhead line transmission networks, 2,800 km of underground cable and 350 substations to connect local distribution networks to the national grid. As such, NGET will be pivotal in delivering the UK's ambitious targets to promote energy security and the supply of cleaner, greener, energy sources to reach the homes and business of the UK. NGET's forthcoming TKRE cable tunnelling project in London encompasses (without limitation): - Design and build of a new tunnel for HV cables; - Design, supply and installation of a 400kV cable system; - Design and build of headhouses and associated M&E equipment; and - Design and build of a cable sealing end compound. The tunnel will be approximately 1.8km in length and located between Tilbury and Gravesend in the Lower Thames Estuary Programme (approximate and subject to change): Front End Engineering Design work has commenced and includes on and offshore ground investigation surveys The FEED work is planned to be completed Autumn 2023 First Site Access for construction is summer 2024 Planned completion for construction is Autumn 2028 NGET wishes to undertake pre-procurement EME with the supply chain for the TKRE Project prior to the commencement of formal procurement procedures. The EME will raise awareness of NGET's planned HV cable tunnel project and enable the market to informally express an interest in participating in the pre-procurement EME exercise and potential future procurement event. The contracting authority will use the EME to seek feedback from the supply chain to further validate the proposed procurement and delivery strategies for these works. National Grid is seeking to engage with economic operators from across the supply chain with relevant infrastructure project experience, that are typically involved in the design, manufacture, supply, installation, construction and commissioning of HV cable tunnel infrastructure projects of this nature. As noted below, it is currently anticipated that following conclusion of the EME stage, NG will invite the suppliers registered on relevant UVDB codes to complete and return a pre-qualification questionnaire in or around May 2023. This date is indicative and may change (due to either acceleration or deceleration of the procurement programme). Please also note that NGET may elect not to launch a procurement process at all, and / or to deliver some or all of its requirements in some other way. Additional information: II.3. Estimated date of publication of contract notice, a contract notice will not be published, we will use the applicable Achilles UVDB codes to issue a pre-qualification questionnaire in or around May 2023 to engage the market.