A new contract to provide key services for the UK Armed Forces
serving in Cyprus awarded by the Defence Infrastructure
Organisation (DIO) comes into service on 1 November.
The £256 million contract, which provides maintenance work,
repairs, servicing, and hard facilities management to the MOD’s
large estate in Cyprus, was awarded to Mitie Defence Limited in
April.
The new contract covers every part of the MOD estate in Cyprus,
including RAF Akrotiri, Episkopi, Dhekelia, Ayios Nikolias,
Troodos, Bloodhound Camp and Radio Sonde, as well as Cypriot
companies within the supply chain.
It is the second contract to come into service under DIO’s new
Overseas Prime Contracts (OPC) programme, with the first starting
in Gibraltar in November 2022. Further facilities management
contracts will follow in other locations, including Germany and
wider Europe, Cyprus Soft FM, and the Falklands and Ascension
Islands.
The contract is for an initial period of 7 years, and aims to be
more flexible and responsive to the needs of service personnel
and staff in Cyprus. This will allow them to focus on their work
in the knowledge that they have safe and resilient infrastructure
to work from.
The new contracts take into account recommendations for
improvements to the current arrangements, meaning a better
service for military personnel and their families 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
will allow for services to be better tailored to the requirements
of specific sites. A new, integrated software system will also
enable information to be shared more effectively, and performance
targets will encourage a high standard of repairs, reducing the
need for repeat visits.
DIO’s Head of Overseas and Training Region, Brigadier
Jonathan Bartholomew, said:
A year to the day from the first of the overseas facilities
management contracts going live in Gibraltar marks the
significant in-service date for Cyprus. It has been the
culmination of a huge amount of work from across the Defence
enterprise to get to this milestone. We are looking forward to
working closely with Mitie Defence Ltd as we support the Armed
Forces in Cyprus, providing safe and well-maintained facilities
for them and their families.
Brian Talbot, Managing Director, Central Government &
Defence, Mitie said:
As proud supporters of the British Armed Forces, we’re delighted
to be continuing our work on the Overseas Prime Contract in
Cyprus. Having worked closely with the Defence Infrastructure
Organisation to deliver services on the Island over the last 15
years, we look forward to bringing new technology-led solutions
which will underpin the enhanced asset maintenance standard for
the DIO estate, upgrading key facilities to meet the changing
requirements of British military personnel working across Cyprus.
The next contract to be awarded as part of the OPC programme in
the coming months will be the Cyprus Soft Facilities Management
contract. The final contract under the programme will be the
South Atlantic Islands in summer 2024.
