UK to spend £256m on upgrading Cyprus bases

A new contract aimed at upgrading the British Sovereign Bases in Cyprus and awarded by the UK’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) came into service on 1 November.

The £256m contract, which provides maintenance work, repairs, servicing, and hard facilities management to the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) large estate in Cyprus, was awarded to Mitie Defence Limited back in April, the ministry said on the UK’s official government website.

The contract covers every part of the MOD estate in Cyprus, including RAF Akrotiri, Episkopi, Dhekelia, Ayios Nikolaos, 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 seven 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 ministry said.

Agios Nikolaos station

According to the MoD, 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, it said. 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.

[Main Photo: Charlie Antelme, Mitie Managing Director Defence, Brigadier Jonathan Bartholomew, DIO’s Head of Overseas Region and Training, Brian Talbot, Mitie Managing Director Central Government and Defence, and Adrian Stevens, Mitie Director of Operations, mark the contract in service date. (Crown copyright MOD 2023)]