Scope
Description
BHC is seeking expressions of interest from contractors who are interested in tendering for the construction of a piled steel portal framed clad warehouse and associated car parking, lorry parking etc. at Irwin Way, Belfast. The warehouse will be up to 11m high to eaves and approximately 31,000 sqft in building footprint area, inclusive of approximately 5,000 sqft of office/welfare space.
The warehouse facility will be for the refurbishment and processing of gas cylinders (to include degassing zone, shot blasting area, powder coating and pressure testing zones & external secure storage area). There will be roof mounted PV, all associated site works including car parking, EV charging stations, refuse store, external tanks and substation. The facility will be required to achieve a BREEAM Excellent standard.
Further information regarding this opportunity is available within the pre-qualification documents available at the weblink provided in this notice
Total value (estimated)
- £6,000,000 excluding VAT
- £7,200,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 February 2026 to 1 November 2026
- 9 months, 1 day
Main procurement category
Works
CPV classifications
- 45110000 - Building demolition and wrecking work and earthmoving work
- 45210000 - Building construction work
- 45220000 - Engineering works and construction works
- 45261000 - Erection and related works of roof frames and coverings
- 45262000 - Special trade construction works other than roof works
- 45310000 - Electrical installation work
- 45330000 - Plumbing and sanitary works
- 45340000 - Fencing, railing and safety equipment installation work
- 45350000 - Mechanical installations
- 45430000 - Floor and wall covering work
- 45440000 - Painting and glazing work
- 45500000 - Hire of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment with operator
Contract locations
- UKN06 - Belfast
Participation
Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation
Conditions of Participation are as stated in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.
Technical ability conditions of participation
Conditions of Participation are as stated in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Enquiry deadline
28 July 2025, 5:00pm
Submission type
Requests to participate
Deadline for requests to participate
7 August 2025, 12:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Requests to participate (i.e. completed Pre-Qualification Questionnaires) must be submitted by email to tendersfc@belfast-harbour.co.uk in accordance with the instructions specified in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.
The pre-qualification documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge at https://www.belfast-harbour.co.uk/corporate/tenders.
Applicants who wish to participate in this tender process will be required to provide their contact details before downloading the pre-qualification documents. Applicants who fail to provide their details to BHC or register in this manner will not receive any clarifications or updated information provided by BHC during the tender process.
Applicants are advised not to include marketing information, brochures or links to other documents within their Pre-Qualification Questionnaire responses. Emails which contain suspicious contents or links to third party servers or websites may be quarantined or rejected by the BHC email filtering systems.
It is the Applicant's responsibility to ensure that a delivery receipt is received for Pre-Qualification Questionnaire submissions. BHC does not accept any responsibility for the premature opening or mishandling of PQQ documents that are not submitted in accordance with these instructions.
Tenders may be submitted electronically
No
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Suppliers to be invited to tender
Maximum 6 suppliers
Selection criteria:
Subject to a sufficient number of compliant responses being received, BHC intends (according to the process described in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire) to invite a maximum of the top 6 (six) ranked compliant Applicants to the invitation to tender stage of the process, provided that BHC, acting at its discretion, reserves the right to invite less than 6 (six) Applicants to tender.
Where there is a tie for 6th (sixth) place, all Applicants in 6th (sixth) place will be invited to tender. For the purposes of this exercise, a tie for 6th (sixth) place is deemed to occur where two or more Applicants have identical scores.
Award decision date (estimated)
15 January 2026
Award criteria
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tender Price | As per tender documentation. |
Price | 100% |
Other information
Payment terms
Refer to draft Conditions of Contract.
Contract value is estimated between £5-6 million (ex VAT). The Total value stated above therefore represents the upper end of BHC's best estimate of the total potential cost of the contract.
Applicants should note that:
• BHC reserves the right to require bonds, deposits, guarantees or other forms of security to ensure proper contractual performance. The financial capacity conditions of participation for this tender process (as set out in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire) also set out specific requirements in this regard.
• Subject to the status and involvement of the parties, BHC may require the parties to commit to joint and several liability in respect of the contract. Alternatively, BHC may require the lead operator to take total responsibility or a consortium to form a legal entity before entering into any contract.
Applicable trade agreements
- Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
- Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Competitive flexible procedure
Special regime
Utilities
Competitive flexible procedure description
It is anticipated that the tender process will proceed through the following stages:
1. Tender Notice published and pre-qualification documentation made available.
2. Pre-Qualification submissions evaluated and shortlist of Applicants selected.
3. Invitation to tender and associated documents issued to shortlisted Applicants.
4. Tender submissions evaluated.
5. Optional BAFO/value engineering stage.
6. BAFO submissions (if requested) evaluated.
7. Issue assessment summaries and publish contract award notice
8. Standstill period
9. Contract award finalised
BHC reserves the right at any time to:
• Reject any or all responses and to cancel or withdraw from this tender process at any time;
• Award a contract without prior notice;
• Change the basis of, the procedures and timescales set out or referred to within the tender documents;
• Require a bidder to clarify any submissions in writing and/or to provide additional information.
The costs of responding to this notice and participation in this process will be borne by each bidder. All discussions and correspondence will be deemed strictly subject to contract until a formal contract is entered into. The formal contract shall not be binding until it has been signed and dated by the duly authorised representatives of both parties.
If at any time during the tender process or post award it comes to the attention of BHC (by whatever means) that a supplier has become 'excluded' or 'excludable' (as defined by section 57 of the Procurement Act 2023) BHC, after complying with its obligations under the Procurement Act 2023, reserves the right to exclude that supplier from the procurement process or terminate any contract awarded to that supplier.
Applicants are advised that BHC has appointed certain independent professional services firms to act on its behalf in relation to this procurement process, as named in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire. Given these parties' prior involvement in the preparation for and/or during the procurement process, none of these parties may be part of an Applicant's team or advisors in relation to this procurement process. Applicants must not contact these parties, directly or indirectly, with a view to obtaining information in relation to this procurement process.
All requests for clarification must be submitted strictly in accordance with the clarification procedure set out in this document.
Documents
Associated tender documents
https://www.belfast-harbour.co.uk/corporate/tenders/
List of associated tender documents is provided in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire, which is available at https://www.belfast-harbour.co.uk/corporate/tenders
Contracting authority
Belfast Harbour
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PGGW-7911-WZGZ
Harbour Office, Corporation Square
Belfast
BT1 3AL
United Kingdom
Region: UKN06 - Belfast
Organisation type: Public undertaking (commercial organisation subject to public authority oversight)
Devolved regulations that apply: Northern Ireland