District-heating plant construction work

Tender description

The University is embarking on a programme to create a wholly new campus on a brown field site providing state-of-the-art facilities and technology that will ensure all students have access to extensive and high-quality teaching facilities, library, lT suites, studios, innovative learning spaces, laboratories, residential accommodation and social facilities. These do not form part of this procurement. The new campus will comprise higher education buildings, student halls of residence, energy centre (the Energy Centre) and fallow space available for leisure, retail, commercial development and University future expansion. The overall campus development is being delivered through a number of packages of work, of which the Energy Centre is 1 specific package/contract. The University has appointed an infrastructure contractor whose scope includes the design, build and installation of the below ground services and roads inclusive of the district heating network to a point on the boundary of the Energy Centre site area. The University has appointed a separate academic and public realm contractor to deliver the academic buildings and to take overall main/principal contractor responsibility for the shared construction areas. A separate procurement exercise is currently under way for the design and construction of 1 200 student residences. The Energy Centre will be located at the Waterside Development Site, Northampton. The land where the Energy Centre is to be built is owned by the University and can be found at the far southern end of North/South Road. The site boundary is bordered by a car park access road to the north, a campus road to the east, an electrical substation and ownership boundary to the south, and a surface car park to the west. The scope of works for the Energy Centre contract will include: — Design and construction of an energy centre building on a brownfield site with associated service yard; — Design, procure, install and set to work heat generation and associated plant as required to supply and maintain the low temperature hot water (LTHW) district heating network; — Connection to all required incoming services from locations in near proximity to the Energy Centre site boundary including data connections back to the plant rooms in each of the academic and student residential buildings; — Design and installation of all signage to the building; — The Energy Centre contractor will be responsible for raising the site levels from the remediation level to the finished level, and installation of associated hard and soft landing; — Maintenance, operation and campus commissioning support from practical completion (‘PC’) in June 2017 until September 2018, when the University welcomes its first student intake; — Defects liability period extending from PC in June 2017 to 31.8.2019; — Management of the discharge of planning conditions; — Liaison with building control throughout the project duration to obtain building regulations approval; — Training of University staff both at PC in June 2017 and the student intake in September 2018; and — Completion and handover of completed Health and Safety file in accordance with the University's requirements. The Energy Centre contractor will be required to complete the design from the end of RIBA Stage 3 and deliver a fully operational Energy Centre by June 2017, for use by other contractors to test and commission their buildings. Practical completion of the works will be granted at this point. The Energy Centre contractor will appoint a design team to complete the technical design from the end of RIBA stage 3. Should the Energy Centre contractor wish to approach the client design team directly to carry out this design work, they may do so. The Energy Centre contractor will then remain on site under the terms of the NEC3 form of design and build contract (in the form to be issued with the invitation to Tender) in order to undertake the operation and maintenance of the Energy Centre between June 2017 and September 2018, at which point the University will take responsibility. They will also work with the other main contractors in the commissioning of the buildings and connection to the Energy Centre. An extended defects liability period will start from award of PC in June 2017 and conclude on 31.8.2019 (The system will be monitored in use during this time to allow seasonal commissioning). This extended period is required to ensure the facility is under a defects liability period for a full academic cycle when the buildings will be in use.