Operation and Maintenance of a Proposed Regional Wood Reprocessing Facility at Silent Valley, Blaenau Gwent

Concepts

• silent valley
• ebbw vale
• refuse recycling
• silent valley waste management site
• o&m of the facility
• regional wood
• blaenau gwent
• day processing of the waste wood feedstock
• facility
• operation of a process-line configuration of plant

Location

Gwent Valleys: Silent Valley, Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent

Description

1. The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to alert potential suppliers to an opportunity in relation to the Local Authorities’ requirements for the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of a proposed regional wood reprocessing facility at the Silent Valley waste management site near Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent. 2. The Authority is keen to explore the commercial viability of outsourcing the O&M of the facility over a term of up to 10 years, as opposed to the option of delivering the operations “in-house” as a public sector partnership. 3. The outsourced O&M scope may indicatively consist of the following services: - Day-to-day processing of the waste wood feedstock into a specification wood chip suitable for panel board. - Operation of a process-line configuration of plant and machinery; - Manning the picking station (to extract contaminants from the feedstock). - Responsibility for meeting required Performance Outputs. - Responsibility for meeting prescribed Quality thresholds. - Responsibility for the management of all Health and Safety aspects. - Management of Site personnel. - Traffic Management and vehicle loading/unloading operations. - Procurement of Fuel and other consumables to operate the plant and equipment. - Responsibility for managing the Environmental Permit and Fire Prevention Plan Permits; - Interface management with adjacent permit holder(s) on the site at Silent Valley. 4. The overall objective is to create a modern and environmentally sustainable wood reprocessing facility that will contribute towards the net zero carbon agenda.

Total Quantity or Scope

2. The wider site is currently used for waste treatment and recycling activities, and has a weighbridge, excellent transport and drainage infrastructure and is already in possession of various waste management consents, which will assist the development and delivery of the planned c.30,000 tpa wood reprocessing facility. 3. A partnership has been proposed that will comprise a group of local authorities in Wales who will provide waste wood “feedstock” to the facility from their respective civic amenity sites. The host Authority Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council have developed the concept design for the facility and will now procure and obtain the necessary planning and environmental permits. 4. The partnership is keen to explore the commercial viability of outsourcing the O&M of the facility over a term of up to 10 years, as opposed to the option of delivering the operations “in-house” as a public sector partnership. 5. The partnership will deliver a facility that will incorporate an [80m x 20m] steel framed processing hall, compliant with all fire and operating permit regulations for waste wood reprocessing plants. The facility will also include, inter-alia, several (external) storage bays, a new 1.5MW power supply and a sustainable drainage solution. 6. The outsourced O&M scope may indicatively consist of the following services: … - Responsible for maintaining a high quality recycling performance; 7. The overall objective is to create a modern and environmentally sustainable wood reprocessing facility that will contribute towards the net zero carbon agenda. 8. The Partnership supports early engagement of the supply chain and to consult with the market prior to commencement of the procurement.

CPV Codes

• 90514000 - Refuse recycling services

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** The Council is facilitating this Prior Information Notice / Request for Information via it's E-Procurement Portal, which can be accessed via the following link:https://etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk Project Ref: pqq_33259 - Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of a Proposed Regional Wood Processing Facility at Silent Valley, Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent. Potential suppliers will not be prejudiced by any response to this PIN, or failure to respond. This PIN does not formally signify the beginning of a procurement and does not constitute a commitment by the Authority to undertake any procurement exercise. Once the Authority decides to formally commence the procurement, a separate contract notice will be issued. Potential suppliers should register their interest to ensure they are kept informed of this opportunity, including the Industry Day, where the Authority will present and market test with suppliers the scope of the “Delivering Differently” opportunity. Draft Timetable Actual dates are yet to be determined, so at this stage this timetable is for indicative purposes only: OJEU notice and Suppliers’ Questionnaire published - July 2022 Industry Day - July 2022 ITT’s issued to pre-qualified bidders - August 2022 ITT’s Submitted - November 2022 Contract Award - January 2023 Contract Commencement - January 2023 Completion of Facility Construction - January 2024 Commissioning of Facility - March 2024 Request for Information Blaenau Gwent CBC acting as the lead Contracting Authority for the Partnership, wishes to seek information and advice from interested parties who may wish to participate in the forthcoming procurement process. The purpose of this Request for Information is to invite interested parties to express and register their interest in this opportunity and assist the Authority in finalising the project’s scope of works and the contract. To this extent, the Authority is now seeking responses from the market in relation to the following questions. 1. Would you be interested bidding for this project, or if not, what else would be required for it to meet your organisation’s tendering criteria? 2. What form of Operation and Maintenance contract would, in your opinion, be the most consistent in terms of delivering “win-win” contracting arrangements (including the duration of the contract) that incentivise better outcomes? 3. Do you have any comments on the indicative scope of services listed above? 4. Do you have any additional comments or queries from the information provided above? Expressions of interest and accompanying PIN responses should be submitted via the Authority's e-tendering portal (https://etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk) by no later than 12:00 noon Monday 25th April 2022. NB: All future project related dialogue or request for clarifications should be communicated via the portal's messaging functionality. NB please be advised that the Authority is simultaneously running two further project related PIN's: 1) Supply & Installation of Plant & Equipment at the proposed Regional Wood Facility at Silent Valley; 2) Construction of a proposed Regional Wood Facility at Silent Valley; (WA Ref:119766)