Prison construction is set for a
£2.5 billion boost as the Ministry of Justice puts major framework to expand
the prison system in place, reports Glenigan.
A raft of contractors have been appointed to the MoJ Constructor Services
Framework, which is being used to support the government’s pledge to spend £4
billion creating 20,000 new prison places (Project ID: 15378582).
Contractors have been appointed in different lots and £625 million will be
spent through a national agreement covering schemes valued from £10 million to
£30 million. Bowmer & Kirkland, Galliford Try, Henry Brothers, ISG, Kier,
Lendlease, Morgan Sindall and Wates are on this lot.
Work in this price band identified by Glenigan’s construction market
research as still to be awarded ranges from a £18.5 million plan for two house
blocks at HMP Standford Hill (pictured) in Kent (Project ID: 21480670) to a
similarly valued plan for a pair of houseblocks at HMP Ford in West Sussex
(Project ID: 21472039).
Regional plans
The Ministry of Justice has also set up four regional lots to deliver
spending of up to £750 million on projects individually valued between £5
million and £10 million.
In Wales and Central England, Bowmer & Kirkland, Henry Brothers, Henry
Boot, ISG and Wates will compete for £203 million-worth of work, such as a £6
million extension of HM Long Lartin in Evesham (Project ID: 21374948).
Spending of up to £195 million is expected in the South of England, where EW
Beard, Galliford Try, Morgan Sindall, VINCI and Wates will be in the running
for schemes such as a £6.3 million prison kitchen at Sheerness in Kent (Project
ID: 22119190).
In the North of England, Bowmer & Kirkland, Henry Boot, Henry Brothers,
ISG and VINCI will vie for £240 million-worth of work, while in London and the
East of England, Bowmer & Kirkland, Galliford Try, Morgan Sindall, Wates
and Willmott Dixon will compete for £113 million-worth of projects.
Small jobs, big spending
More than £1.1 billion will be spent on projects valued at up to £5 million
with one contractor appointed in each region and two others held in reserve in
case this work is not taken up. This makes the likes of Wates – the successful
contractor in Northern England – favourite for jobs such as the proposed £1.9
million redevelopment of probation offices in Consett (Project ID: 22133318).
Other successful contractors in this category include Galliford Try in
London and Eastern England, Kier in Southern England and ISG in Wales and
Central England.
Big spenders
The Ministry of Justice has shot up Glenigan’s rankings of the industry’s
biggest spending clients after commissioning £1.4 billion-worth of construction
work in the 12 months to February 2023. A year ago, the Ministry of Justice was
ranked 35th after awarding contracts worth £209 million but is now third.
Wates has been a major beneficiary and bagged a £279 million deal for three
house blocks at HMP Highpoint (Project ID: 22009764) and a £158 million job for
two house blocks at HMP Hindley (Project ID: 17107775).
Other major schemes yet to be awarded include a £42 million conversion of an
office block on Newgate Street in central London into a new tribunal court
(Project ID: 23000039). With a large pipeline of construction work, the
Ministry of Justice looks set to remain a major industry client for years to
come.
