§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the original estimated(a) cost and (b) completion date for the PFI project for the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington was; and what the current estimated (i) cost and (ii) completion date is. [169815]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 30 April 2004]: The original estimated cost for the construction of new facilities at the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington under the 1998 contract with the PFI contractor and its Design and Building Contractor was £82,012,200. The Availability Fee paid by my Department is based on this sum. We do not know the current estimated cost of construction. Since this is a PFI contract, the risk on cost overruns rests with the PFI and Design and Building contractors.
The original completion date for the PFI project was 24 September 2001, and the PFI contractor currently estimates that the final completion date will be June 2006. Fifteen of the 16 modules in the new facilities have been handed over, but additional work is still needed by the PFI Contractor to bring modules into line with the Output Specifications; and, as a result of the delay, changes are needed to some of the new facilities to enable them to meet the current needs of NPL's scientific programmes. The contractor's estimated final completion date of June 2006 provides for the demolition of existing buildings at NPL, the construction of car parking space, and landscaping.