§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the value for money to(a) his Department and (b) the other public funds of road building schemes, including those relating to road improvements and operations, using the design, build, finance and operate contracting method. [86098]
§ Mr. JamiesonA value for money assessment is carried out on all Design Build Finance and Operate proposals, whether they are promoted by my Department or by a Local Authority seeking Government assistance for their scheme. This consists of the preparation of a public sector comparator, which broadly involves an estimate of the costs of constructing and maintaining the scheme within the public sector over the same length of a Design Build Finance and Operate contract and comparing this with an estimate of letting a Design Build Finance and Operate contract. The costs of both options are then discounted back to today's prices to ensure that the comparison is on the samebasis.
The following Design Build Finance and Operate schemes were judged to be value for money at contract award.
Schemes promoted by the Highways Agency
212W
- M1-A1
- A1(M)
- A417 A419
- M40
- A19
- A50
- A30/A35
Local Authority schemes supported by my Department
A130
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road building schemes using the design, build, finance and operate contracting method are(a) completed and (b) under construction; what the estimated cost to public funds is for each project over the lifetime of the DBFO contract; and if he will make a statement. [86100]
§ Mr. JamiesonThere are nine design build finance and operate schemes of which one is under construction (A130) and eight have been completed. The cost to the public funds over the life (30 years) of the eight completed projects are:
£ million Project Estimated cost M1-A1 232 A1(M) 154 A417 A419 112 A69 62 M40 182 A19 136 A50 67 A30/A35 148 The above figures are net present values calculated at an 8 per cent. real discount rate.
The Government are also prepared to consider providing assistance to local authorities to provide roads through a design build finance and operate contract. To date only the A130 road has been procured in this way. That road was constructed in two stages. The first stage has been completed and the second stage is expected to open shortly. The estimated cost to public funds over the life of the project is £105 million at 1997 prices.