2.23 Since its signature in June 1998 the PFI contract has delivered benefits for the Department. Defence Management completed the construction of the new permanent facilities (Figure 1) by the due date of early August 2000. This allowed the College to admit its first students at Shrivenham within days and to begin the Advanced course in early September 2000 as planned. Such a rapid opening was a significant achievement. The new facilities provide a high-quality training environment and have won a number of construction awards. Feedback from the students on the facilities has been extremely positive.
2.24 Aspects of the allocation of risk have worked satisfactorily to date for the Department. Construction risks did occur. For example there were problems with unforeseen ground conditions at the site. The extra costs were, however, borne by the private sector and not passed on to the Department. The private sector also resolved these problems as the new facilities were ready on the due date. Defence Management's main contractors, Laing Construction and Serco Aerospace, have not divulged the extent of the extra costs that they incurred in overcoming these problems. However, speculation in the press has put Laing Construction's losses on this contract at up to £20 million.
2.25 To date (November 2001) Defence Management's performance in delivering the support services and making the new facilities available has been generally satisfactory.