Helicopter Maintenance & Role Equipment

CPV: Repair and maintenance services of helicopters

Procedure method

Negotiated without publication of a contract notice

Legal basis

CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)

Procurement category

Services

Notice status

Awarded

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Stand-alone contract (no framework)

Competition type

Competitive procedure

GPA / WTO covered

Yes (GPA)

Recurring procurement

Unspecified in notice

First published

20 Dec 2022, 14:30 GMT

Last source update

20 Dec 2022, 14:30 GMT

Authority reference

PSNI DAC 18/22

FTS notice number

2022/S 000-036056

Classification (CPV)

Repair and maintenance services of helicopters

Delivery area

Northern Ireland (UKN0D)

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-0392f0 Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons

Published justification

PSNI currently have 3 Eurocopter Helicopters operating from a location in Northern Ireland. Provision of aerial support is a province wide asset managed by Crime Operations Air Support Unit. Historically these aircraft have been maintained through the establishment of a number of Direct Award Contracts (DACs) approved accordingly within PSNI and DoJ.

The direction of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) states that an operator (PSNI) of an aircraft must have a maintenance agreement in place with suitability licensed contractors to provide continuing airworthiness and the respective maintenance services, without these formal arrangements in place the aircraft would have to be grounded.

The contractor is the original and sole equipment manufacturer of the PSNI aircraft types; the design is their Intellectual Property and shall not be delegated or licensed to a 3rd party. The contractor is the Type Certificate Holder for the core aircraft design and it is responsible for defining the aircraft's "build standard, safe operation and maintenance of airworthiness policy". The platform design, qualification data and safety case empowers the contractor to specify the requirements and mandate modifications for all components (includes specialist role equipment) fitted to the core aircraft and mission systems. The contractor is an CAA-approved continuing airworthiness management organisation and a BCAR A8-23 authorised helicopter maintenance organisation. They have intellectual proprietary rights to the equipment fitted on the aircraft. The aircraft is used for national security type specific duties and is fitted with specialist survelliance equipment. They have the unique competency to manage mature, high flying rate fleets as the OEM and they are the sole source for providing a single integrated solution, they offer an integrated logistics support utilising their supply chain, access to national stock levels and availability of all specialist tooling. They have existing infrastructure in place for the delivery of this service and have unique knowledge and experience in working with PSNI and their specific operational needs since aircraft entry into service.

The provision of this complete maintenance service ensures that the aircraft are maintained to the highest standards ensuring officer safety in their respective operational deployment.

The value of this DAC is above the threshold and therefore the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) apply. There are derogations under the regulations to award a contract to a single supplier where the supplies or services can only be supplied by a particular supplier for any of the following reasons:-

i)Where competition is absent for technical reasons (regulation 32(2)(b)(ii); or

ii)For reasons connected with the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights (reg32(2)(b) iii) but only where no reasonable alternative or substitute exists and the absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement.

Publisher note: This VEAT is to give notice of the award decision and to commence a standstill period prior to award of contract. The contract award will not be entered into 31st December 2022 at the earliest.

• Information withheld for security reasonsAwarded supplier Information withheld for security reasons, UK

No document links were published on the notice.