Government makes construction contracts worth £109bn available

Construction companies across the UK have been given a brand new opportunity to learn more about the contracts the government is planning to make available over the coming months in the shape of an online portal that contains all the relevant information. Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith has revealed details of contracts worth some £109 billion are being released in order to help builders and suppliers plan ahead and grow their businesses. The portal will provide information relating to all the developments the government is planning to carry out and buildings it is intending to renovate for several years to come. This will be incredibly useful to construction firms, as they can weigh up which contracts they wish to bid for. Ms Smith said: "We know that being transparent about opportunities available in the public sector is exactly what suppliers need to start looking at their business, investing and boosting their capabilities. "Regularly updating this information and providing construction suppliers with much earlier visibility of future opportunities within government gives UK business the knowledge they need to plan, get ahead of the game and grow." Known as the Government Construction Pipeline, this document will be updated every six months to reflect the latest opportunities that are due to come into the construction market. It has already been altered to show all programmes up to 2020 and, in some cases, even further. Some of the points of interest already contained on the portal include the £3.3 billion of funding the government will make available to oversee the construction of 165,000 new affordable homes in England over the course of the next three years. There will also be £370 million available in 2015 and 2016 to invest in long-term flood defences, while more than £40 billion has been earmarked for the High Speed 2 project. All of these schemes and more could catch the eye of construction firms in the UK and encourage them to bid for a contract relating to them.