Monday, April 14, 2008

The Ministry of Defence has appointed the Komfort consortium as preferred bidder in the European tender for the Public Private Partnership at the Kromhout Barracks in Utrecht. Komfort - a consortium of Ballast Nedam, Strukton and John Laing - provided the most economically attractive offer for the project, which takes the form of a 25-year DBFMO agreement, worth over € 300 million. Komfort has teamed up with Meyer & Van Schooten Architects, Karres & Brands Landscape Architects and ISS Facility Services.

The project includes new accommodation for between 2,000 and 3,000 defence employees at the Kromhout Barracks site in Utrecht. The complex will become the base for the headquarters of the Royal Netherlands Army Command, together with several other sections of the Ministry of Defence. Komfort will build a modern office park in a green and open setting. In addition to office premises, the site will house sports facilities, a health centre, garage, meeting centre and living quarters for around 100 staff. Komfort will also restore three national monuments that belongito the New Dutch Water Line, which are located at the site: the ‘bridge with the 12 arches’, the Tamboershut and the bomb-proof watch post. These historical features will be given a prominent place in the overall design.

A special aspect of this project is that it takes the form of a DBFMO agreement (Design, Build, Finance, Maintain and Operate), meaning Komfort is not only responsible for the design and the construction of the project, but also for the funding, maintenance, management and servicing of the facilities. For example, the agreement includes an extensive service package that covers cleaning, catering, security, reception and copy services. In exchange, the client will pay a periodical performance-related delivery fee.

Komfort’s proposition includes all the elements of the design, building, finance, maintenance and operational services chain in an integrated 25-year agreement. The lifecycle costs of the new facilities will be lower due to the fact that all the services are designed, financed, implemented and operated by one organisation as part of a cohesive package. The end user, the Royal Netherlands Army Command and its staff and others, are represented within the context of this project by the Ministry of Defence’s PPP Kromhout Barracks Project Organization as the commissioning party on behalf of the State.

The activities in the coming period will focus on the finalisation and formalisation of the contractual and financial aspects. Komfort has begun developing the plan in further detail with a view to guaranteeing the planned delivery on 1 October 2010.

Note for editors:
Further information: Komfort, Sander Lefevre
telephone number +31 (0)30 285 31 82 or +31 (0)6 1030 8497