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The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has awarded £117 million worth of contracts to deliver repair and maintenance services to United States Visiting Forces sites in the UK.
The contracts, which are for three years, with the potential to extend by a further two, based on performance, will provide hard FM services to US Air Force bases at; RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Croughton, RAF Molesworth, RAF Alconbury, RAF Fairford and RAF Menwith Hill.
The contracts will support current and future operational requirements by providing property maintenance, repairs, servicing, and hard FM to buildings used by the US Forces, as well as housing at Lakenheath.
VIVO, a 50/50 Joint Venture between Serco and EQUANS, has secured four of the five contracts being tendered under the Crown Commercial Service Facilities Management Defence Marketplace Framework. VIVO will be responsible for undertaking a multitude of works from maintenance activities through to the development of new buildings and facilities at RAF Lakenheath, RAF Alconbury, RAF Molesworth, RAF Croughton, RAF Fairford and RAF Menwith Hill.
Mitie was awarded the contract for the provision of hard FM services at RAF Mildenhall.
The contracts, which also include the provision for a further £46 million in additional works, have been developed in close collaboration with the US Air Force to ensure that the needs of the users on each base have been fully considered.
Lessons learned from the delivery of previous FM services have helped shape the new contracts, which incorporate best practice and recognised industry standards.
Tender evaluations were weighted to quality rather than price with the contracts designed to deliver an improved service through more effective and collaborative contract management.
David Brewer, DIO’s Chief Operating Officer said: “We are proud of our relationship with the US Air Force and want to ensure we are providing them with the best possible service.
“These contracts represent a step-change in how we deliver facilities management services to the US Visiting Forces and we have worked closely with our US colleagues to design these new contracts to ensure they reflect their needs.”
Jerry Moloney, Managing Director of VIVO Defence Services, said: “We are delighted that VIVO has been awarded these contracts. This important award reinforces our position as a key supplier to DIO and Defence. We are grateful to the MOD and DIO for the trust they are placing in us and look forward to continuing to build on our parent companies’ existing relationships with the United States Visiting Forces.”
Brian Talbot, Managing Director, Central Government & Defence, for Mitie, commented: “We are delighted to have been awarded this new contract by DIO and are proud to support the United States Air Force 100th Air Refueling Wing based at RAF Mildenhall. We look forward to improving these important services by empowering our exceptional colleagues on the ground and deploying our industry-leading technology.”
Brigadier General George Dietrich, Director of Logistics, Engineering, and Force Protection for US Air Forces in Europe and Africa, added: “The award of these new base maintenance contracts are a very welcome and important step for US Forces in the United Kingdom. We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with DIO over the life of this contract and beyond.”
The contracts are expected to come into service in December 2022.
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