Tonight the council’s Policy and Resources Committee considered
the outcome of the tendering process for the construction contract for the V&A
Dundee and agreed to accept the fixed price tender by BAM Construction Ltd of £76.16
million. When fixtures and fittings, professional fees and contingencies are factored
in the total cost comes in at £80.11 million, which is a staggering increase on
the initial budget of £45 million.
I made the point at committee that it is important that no further
demand is made of the taxpayer and that the revised figure must be the once and
for all final cost of the project. I asked about ongoing risk to the council and
how secure the external funding for the project is and the cost implication to
the council’s revenue budget for financing the additional £6.5 million of capital
being provided , which is on top of the money already committed by the council,
including the £5 million to the project to help with running costs over its first
10 years of operation.
It was also agreed there
would be a thorough review of the background to this situation by an independent
expert in procurement, and that a project board be set up to oversee the construction
phase of the V &A Dundee.
I remain supportive
of the project as I believe it will be a principal part of our economy going forward, but it’s imperative that the costs and timescales are
kept under control.
