The two remaining bidders are: Connect North East comprising Balfour Beatty Capital Projects Ltd and Volker Stein Construction Europe bv; and The Bouygues Consortia comprising Bouygues Travaux Publics SA (only principal members mentioned).

New Tyne Crossing project director Paul Fenwick said: “Whilst it is disappointing that T4 have withdrawn from the procurement process, there could be a positive impact on timescales.

“We now only need to evaluate two bids, which will take less time. In addition, if one bid is clearly superior to the other and meets our criteria then we may be able to appoint a Concessionaire without going through a ‘best and final offer’ (BAFO) stage.

“In terms of the impact on the overall construction programme, much will depend on the ability of the winning consortia to have the necessary resources in place.”

Ends
Issued on behalf of the New Tyne Crossing by Bradley O’Mahoney Public Relations. Media Contacts: Richard Simpson on 01207 272162 or 07821 537106 or Felicity Amer on 0191 281 8833.

The full text of the letter from T4, addressed to Paul Fenwick, is as follows:

“We regret that T4 will now be unable to submit a bid for the New Tyne Crossing project and therefore have to withdraw from the competition. As you may be aware the change in ownership of one our consortium members precipitated a fundamental change in the way the consortium had originally envisaged how the allocation of work would be distributed. We were unable to satisfactorily resolve this issue and it is for this unfortunate reason that we are unable to proceed with the project.

"We hope that the project is successfully procured within the timescales you envisaged. The project itself will contribute hugely to an improvement in the local environment and will hopefully stimulate economic activity in the area.”

1. The New Tyne Crossing is the project to finance, design, build and operate a second vehicle tunnel linking the A19 under the River Tyne between East Howdon (North Tyneside) and Jarrow (South Tyneside) and to operate the existing vehicle, pedestrian and cycle tunnels for a concessionary period of 30 years.
2. Invitations to tender for the New Tyne Crossing were issued on February 8 2006. The deadline for tenders is August 7 2006.
3. On July 21 2005 the Secretary of State for Transport approved the application by the Tyne and Wear Transport Authority (TWPTA) to go ahead with the planning and construction of the New Tyne Crossing.
4. A Legal Challenge was made in August 30 2005 by Bryan Atkinson, a resident of South Tyneside.
5. The High Court hearing is scheduled to take place on 5 April.
6. The New Tyne Crossing will be an immersed tube tunnel and is currently scheduled to open in late 2010.