Official UK procurement notice
DN779718 - Decarbonisation and Expansion of the Barkantine Heat Network
Authority: Tower Hamlets
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe London Borough of Tower Hamlets' current focus is exploring options for decarbonisation and expansion of the Barkantine Estate, to determine how the Heat Network can best deliver Tower Hamlets' existing and future customer energy needs, following an existing Private Finance Initiative (PFI) due to expire in October 2027.
This market engagement process is in advance of a future tender procedure to decarbonise, operate, and expand the existing Barkantine Heat Network. This will include financing, design, construction, provision of heat supply, customer relations, metering and billing, and operations and maintenance of the network. The existing district heat network has been in operation under a PFI agreement since August 2000, and serves a number of customers on the Isle of Dogs.
The Council are looking for a partner to support with evaluating options to decarbonise and expand the network, when the current management arrangements come to an end in October 2027. This includes options for utilising the existing energy centre or relocating to a new location.
CPV: District-heating plant construction work · Energy and related services · Heating-system design services · Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy · Repair and maintenance services of central heating
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedProcedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Past planning notice
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 24 Jun 2025, 18:02 BST
- Last source update
- 24 Jun 2025, 18:02 BST
- Authority reference
HAR6134- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-034862- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0552e5Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
24 Jun 2025 → 1 Nov 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published24 Jun 2025, 18:02 BST
- Market engagement8 Jul 2025, 23:59 BST
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH) is undertaking a pre-market engagement exercise in preparation for a forthcoming procurement for the decarbonisation and expansion of the Barkantine Estate. The purpose of this market engagement to explore options to determine how the Heat Network can best deliver the Council's existing and future customer energy needs, following an existing Private Finance Initiative (PFI) due to expire in October 2027.
We invite suppliers with relevant expertise and interest to participate in this early engagement process. The purpose is to understand market capacity, capability, and interest, and to help shape the forthcoming procurement strategy.
This pre market engagement is a two-stage process:
Stage 1 - Expression of Interest (EOI):
Interested parties should to register on the London Tenders Portal and express their interest on the project board (DN779718) by no later than 17:00pm on 8 July 2025.
Stage 2 - Issue of Information Pack & Questionnaire:
Suppliers who express interest by the 8 July 2025 will be issued the following documents via the portal:
- A Background Information pack
- A Pre-Market Engagement Questionnaire
- A Non-Disclosure agreement (NDA)
These documents must be completed and returned by the deadline as indicated in the pack. Following this, site visits will be arranged with participating suppliers who have returned the required documents by the specified deadline (post NDA sign off).
The site visit will comprise of a presentation on the LBTH opportunity followed by a tour of the potential energy centre sites, including the existing site. The site visits are expected to take place on 21st July 2025. All relevant information will be made available via the London Tenders Portal.
Please note, this notice is not a call for competition or a commitment to procure. Participation in this market engagement will not prejudice future involvement in any subsequent procurement process and does not commit LBTH to running a competitive tender process in the future.
- Today29 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 367 days1 Nov 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published24 Jun 2025, 18:02 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender