Procurement process to construct the Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus project formally commences

12 May 2016

AIEC Limited and Aberystwyth University are delighted to announce that the public procurement process to appoint a Principal Contractor for the Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus (AIEC) project has formally begun with the release of a Prior Information Notice (PIN). AIEC Limited and Aberystwyth University intend to jointly conduct the procurement with AIEC Limited acting as the Contracting Authority, managing the procedure on its own behalf and on behalf of Aberystwyth University.

The PIN was recently released through Sell2Wales and the Official Journal of the European Union procurement portals, and two Pre-Procurement Market Engagement Events have been organised to provide an opportunity for the construction supply chain to discover more about the AIEC project.

The first event will be held in Aberystwyth on Thursday 26 May 2016 with the second event taking place in Cardiff Bay on Friday 27 May 2016. Parties interested in attending either or both of the events must register before 4pm on Wednesday the 18th of May 2016 by emailing aiecadmin@aber.ac.uk and supplying the names, email addresses and job titles of each person attending (a maximum of 2 people from each organisation). The events are open for all construction suppliers to attend (according to the scope of the PIN), but attendance must be pre-registered as described above.

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund, through the Welsh Government; the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and by Aberystwyth University, the Innovation and Enterprise Campus will provide world leading facilities and the expertise to create market focused solutions for the agri-tech industry.

Huw Watkins, AIEC Project Director said 'The announcement today marks an important milestone for the project and provides interested parties with the opportunity to learn more about supplying goods and services to deliver a world leading research and innovation facility.'

One of the existing buildings which will form part of the AIEC on the Gogerddan site has already been refurbished to a high standard and provides over 300m2 of rentable office accommodation to the business community. The facility has been modernised to cater specifically for companies wishing to get closer to the world leading research excellence undertaken by scientists at IBERS (Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environment and Rural Sciences).

In December 2014, Aberystwyth University announced that it had secured £20m investment from the European Regional Development Fund, through the Welsh Government, £12m investment from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) as well as £8.5m University funds. Since the announcement, Aberystwyth University and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have created a Joint-Venture Company, AIEC Limited, which will be responsible for the design, construction and ultimate operation of the Campus.