F0033 Operations Defined Cost NEC4 PSC Cost Reimbursable Audits

National Highways has 11 number 30-year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts, known as Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) concessions/contracts. Eight of these contracts come to an end in 2026/27. The DBFO contracts contain a requirement for the DBFO Company to join with the Employer (National Highways) to conduct a number of Joint Inspections of the asset.

National Highways determined in 2018 that it required external support to help with the Joint Inspections together with conducting the necessary duties to achieve contract completion across the eight DBFO contracts.

National Highways let a SPaTS Framework Task Order Contract for technical advice and support on the DBFO Handback / Contract Completion project.

The audits should apply to the Task Order since the start of the commission in 2019/20 focussing more after re-let, together with a reconciliation, to ensure that a defined cost includes inflation and cost increase and utilisation of staff, to be able to determine how much a contractor is owed on a monthly basis under the contract.