Tilbury2 Port Expansion

Port of Tilbury London Limited is constructing a new port terminal on the north bank of the River Thames, a short distance to the east of the existing port. The objective is to create an extension to the Port of Tilbury, enabling significant growth at a crucial time in the history of the UK, while also freeing up space within the port site for redevelopment and modernisation.

At a total programme value of circa £200 million and reusing a brownfield industrial site of 50ha, the scheme is considered as a ‘nationally significant infrastructure project’, so authorisation was required under a development consent order (DCO). This was duly received in March 2019, allowing a start on site following a short post-approval legal moratorium.

The main operational activities within Tilbury2 will be a new roll-on/roll-off (RORO) terminal, tripling the size of the facility in the current port, and a construction materials and aggregates terminal (CMAT). An infrastructure corridor is being constructed, which will accommodate new road, rail and utilities connections to the new facility.

Our role

Currie & Brown was appointed in late 2017 to provide a full consultancy service through the lifecycle of the programme.

This has comprised strategic procurement advice and management of the OJEU tendering activities through a two-stage tendering process, using the ICC design and construct form of contract. We provided project and commercial management support through this phase, including assistance with the DCO process, tender clarification and evaluation, and we finalised contract documentation.

On contract award we mobilised our integrated project and commercial management team, providing the employer’s representative role through the design and construction phases. Once the DCO was authorised, physical works could commence on site and our project supervision services commenced.

Our employer’s representative (ER) is supported by three assistant ERs, undertaking the roles of project manager, commercial lead and technical lead, each with their specific duties delegated under the ICC contract. Our principal duties are to administer the contract, provide project controls services, review and technically assure contractor designs and monitor site quality and progress.

Delivering added value

Currie & Brown has completed several projects for Forth Ports (the parent company of Port of Tilbury) over the last ten years. Our long-held involvement in the upgrade of large ports and harbours and our knowledge of their operational requirements have enabled us to establish our client’s plans objectively, target realistic project timescales, identify key delivery risks and opportunities and set robust budgets.

Currie & Brown’s in-house specialist team managed the entire procurement exercise using the MyTenders web-based procurement portal, leaving the client to focus on strategic issues, DCO submission, consultation and finance.

Currie & Brown’s collaborative way of working has fostered easy integration with our client’s broader team and an excellent working relationship with the main contractor John Graham Construction.