A new contract to provide key services for the UK Armed Forces serving in Cyprus has been awarded by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO)
The £256 million contract, which provides maintenance work, repairs, servicing, and hard facilities management to the MOD’s estate sizeable estate in Cyprus, was awarded to Mitie Defence Limited. It will cover every part of the MOD estate in Cyprus, from RAF Akrotiri, Episkopi, Dhekelia, Ayios Nikolias, Troodos, Bloodhound Camp and Radio Sonde.
The contract will come into force in the autumn and will include Cypriot companies within the supply chain.
It is the second contract to come into service under DIO’s new Overseas Prime Contracts (OPC) programme, following a contract which came into service in Gibraltar in November 2022. Further facilities management contracts will follow in other locations including Germany, the Falkland Islands and Ascension Island. The contract is for an initial period of seven years and aims to be more flexible and responsive to the needs of service personnel and staff in Cyprus, allowing them to focus on their work in the knowledge that they have safe and resilient infrastructure to work from.
The new contracts have been developed taking into account recommendations for improvements to the current arrangements and will mean a better service for military personnel based overseas. They seek to provide better value for money and quicker repairs, reducing bureaucracy and unnecessary processes to keep the estate operational.
Greater alignment to current industry standards will mean increased collaboration between DIO and its suppliers and allow for services to be better tailored to the requirements of specific sites. A new, integrated software system will enable information to be shared more effectively.
The contracts have been designed to promote more efficient processes and the quicker delivery of high-volume, lower-value works, ensuring increased value for money. Performance targets will encourage a high standard of repairs and reduce the need for repeat visits.
DIO’s Chief Operating Officer David Brewer said:
Air Vice Marshal Peter Squires, Commander British Forces Cyprus, said:
Brian Talbot, Managing Director, Central Government & Defence, Mitie said:
The next OPC contract to be awarded will be for hard facilities management in Germany and wider Europe next month, with the Cyprus Soft Facilities Management contract award anticipated summer 2023 and the final contract to be the South Atlantic Islands in summer 2024.