Case Study: Central Development Area Waterfront Edinburgh
Waterfront Edinburgh had an ambitious vision to transform the run-down brownfield site on the Granton Waterfront in the North of Edinburgh into one of the finest development opportunities in Northern Europe.
This major, mixed use, high-density urban development covers 140 hectares (about 346 acres), which are being redeveloped in a comprehensive, integrated city quarter where major commercial and business space sits comfortably alongside residential communities.
ChandlerKBS was commissioned to provide procurement advice and cost management services for the Central Development Area, the first phase in the regeneration of the area. The Central Development Area includes seven separate but closely inter-related projects.
The initial contract included site remediation and providing all the necessary infrastructure services.
ChandlerKBS devised an innovative procurement strategy that was designed to deliver best value in a scheme that required a high degree of flexibility in the scope of work that the contractor was likely to undertake.
Contractor selection was on the basis of a quality led process in order to determine the most appropriate Contractor to work in a partnering environment. The Contractors were required to submit their proposals for undertaking the scheme and those proposals, and the quality of their personnel, were significant factors in the selection process. Overhead and profit requirements were tendered and subsequently ring-fenced to ensure that there is no link between scheme cost and Contractor profit.
The process involved all team members in the selection of the Contractor and the subsequent Target Cost negotiation.
Waterfront Edinburgh Limited (WEL) were concerned that they should be able to make substantial scope changes without being financially penalised. Consequently, ChandlerKBS drafted contract documents to reflect WEL’s requirements whilst still underpinning the Partnering ethos.
This contract was the first scheme in a multi million pound regeneration of Edinburgh’s Waterfront area and is likely to be the model that will be used for future major contract procurement.
