HS2 Ltd is seeking land and property acquisition and disposal services in a £35.2m contract.
The suppliers will be responsible for taking possession of land, as well as handing back sites that are no longer required to the relevant affected parties, according to tender documents.
The notice was made public this week, having been logged on 23 August, just two days after prime minister Boris Johnson demanded a review into the £55.6bn rail project.
That review has put £1bn of public investment in Birmingham at risk and worries are mounting in other cities, but an HS2 spokesman said it is “business as usual” as it proceeds with the next stages of land acquisition.
Figures published earlier this year by HS2 in response to a freedom of information request from the campaign group Stop HS2, showed 902 residential properties or pieces of land were bought by the company between 2011 and 2018 for nearly £600m.
The new contract seeks to deliver a framework of new suppliers to replace the existing agreements, which have expired after eight years.
HS2 has issued a pre-market engagement questionnaire “to understand the level of appetite within the market, and to gain feedback on the proposed contracting strategy”.
Suppliers will be tasked with possession, compensation and handing back of residential properties, agricultural holdings, commercial properties, community facilities and utility land rights.
The contracts will be awarded in January 2020. HS2 expects to appoint six suppliers for an initial period of four years, with the option to extend a further four years.
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