Wales seeks mutual investment partner for £500m road scheme

The Welsh government has called for bids for a £500m contract to design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) the next sections of the A465 Heads of the Valleys dualling scheme.Tenders are being invited to upgrade 17.7 km of the A465 trunk road between Dowlais and Hirwaun from three-lane single carriageway to dual two-lane carriageway,Welsh government ministers are proposing to procure the contract not through the discredited private finance initiative (PFI) route but through a hybrid in which it retains a stake, which it calls the mutual investment model (MIM).Sections 5 and 6 of the Heads of the Valleys upgrade includes 17.7 km of carriageway upgrade as well as 2.2km off-line new road construction, six grade-separated junctions (at Hirwaun, Croesbychan, Baverstock, A470, Prince Charles Hospital and Dowlais), 35 widened or newly constructed bridges, 41 culverts and 40 retaining walls. The operation and maintenance part of the contract runs for 30 years and will comprise the new A465 trunk road between Dowlais and Hirwaun.Consulting engineer Jacobs is the Welsh government’s technical adviser for the project.The envisaged timetable sees construction work starting before the end of 2019 and completing in 2022.