2.11 Because of the security situation in Northern Ireland during the civil unrest, there had only been a small number of contractors who had tendered for contracts for the provision of court buildings in the past. Accordingly, the Service considered it important to conduct a thorough market-sounding exercise to explore the possibility of obtaining active support from the private sector.
2.12 The market-sounding exercise, undertaken in October 1996, tested the degree of interest among potential bidders to undertake a PFI project, identified their relative experience in PFI and helped identify prospective constraints with taking forward a PFI deal. The exercise involved discussion of the project and the facilities management services to be provided. It also included initial discussions with potential bidders on the PFI process, including issues such as risk transfer and the proposed payment mechanism.
2.13 Overall, the market sounding exercise concluded that there was considerable interest in the project (Figure 11). In light of this the Service considered that there was a viable PFI option for the procurement of the new courthouse complex. An advertisement was placed in the Official Journal of the European Communities (OJEC) in August 1997, inviting interested parties to submit an expression of interest. Pre-qualification questionnaires were issued to 26 respondents, comprising a range of contractors, facilities managers and financial institutions. Four submissions were received from consortia that included the majority of the 26 individual contractors, facilities managers and financial institutions who had responded to the OJEC invitation for expressions of interest.