Official UK procurement notice
T168 Water Fittings Solution
Authority: Northern Ireland Water (Public body)
Sectors: IT Services & Software (72) Delivery: Northern Ireland (UKN)
Published estimate£720,000≈ £144k / year · £864,000 inc. VAT38.9% above published estimate
Submissions closed 30 Apr 2026awarded 2 Jul 2026
Award (standstill) to OPUZ LTD
Contract term 5 yrsends 31 May 2031 · up to 31 May 2034 with extensions · starts 1 Jun 2026
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis Contract is for the provision of a replacement ICT solution to support NI Water’s statutory Water Fittings Inspection service, delivered in accordance with the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009.
The Service includes the following:
- The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 require NI Water to inspect and enforce standards for plumbing systems to prevent contamination and ensure water quality. These Water Fittings Inspections are carried out by an established NI Water team of Water Fittings Officers who undertake proactive and reactive inspections at customer premises to ensure compliance.
- NI Water has recently refined its business requirements following an Internal Audit review, which recommended the introduction of a risk-based inspection strategy. As a result, new business rules and enhancements have been defined to ensure that high risk premises are inspected at the required frequency.
- In line with the NI Water IT Strategy, which emphasises the use of cloud services and adopts an “adopt, not adapt” principle, this project seeks a replacement Water Fittings solution delivered as a cloud-based SaaS, available commercially off the shelf (COTS).
- How the procedure runs: Please refer to the CfT for detailed information on the process. A combined PSQ and Tender process is being used.
CPV: Computer network services · Computer support and consultancy services · Computer-related services · Data services · IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Software programming and consultancy services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£720,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
How bids were scored
Published award criteria (2)
- QUALITY
- Price
What this means for your bid
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 3 Apr 2026, 14:52 BST
- Last source update
- 2 Jul 2026, 11:58 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 29 May 2026
- Authority reference
T168- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-031219- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-067c75Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
Invoices to be submitted to [email protected]
- How it runs
Please refer to the CfT for detailed information on the process. A combined PSQ and Tender process is being used.
Review and risk notes
- Risks
none
How it was run
Official noticeRun through: eTendersNI · Who buys & how to bid on eTendersNI
Access & registration note: Free Northern Ireland registration
- Submission deadline
- 30 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 27 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Timeline
3 Apr 2026 → 14 Jul 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published206 days ago3 Apr 2026, 14:52 BST
- Next notice expected205 days ago3 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published205 days ago4 Apr 2026, 08:15 BST
- Clarification questions by182 days ago27 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline178 days ago30 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Award decision expected by149 days ago29 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts147 days ago1 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent116 days ago2 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published116 days ago2 Jul 2026, 11:58 BST
- Standstill ends103 days ago14 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
Notice history
8 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 3 Apr 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published3 Apr 2026, 14:52 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published4 Apr 2026, 08:15 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active4 Apr 2026, 08:15 BST
- Procurement method changed4 Apr 2026, 08:15 BST
- Deadline published: 30 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST4 Apr 2026, 08:15 BST
- Contract award notice published2 Jul 2026, 11:58 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete2 Jul 2026, 11:58 BST
- Contract signature expected17 Jul 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 1
Awarded value £1,000,0001 award exc. VAT
Bids received 11 from SMEs
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| OPUZ LTDSME20 Jul 2026 – 19 Jul 2031 · up to 19 Jul 2034Extensions: 3x1 years | £1,000,000 | 2 Jul 2026standstill to 14 Jul 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- OPUZ LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender