SAU launches public procurement process for construction of new headquarters for SIAMU-DBDMH

The land on which Brussels’ new central fire station will be built stretches between the TIR terminal and the Tour & Taxis park. © sau-msi.brussels (Simon Schmitt - www.globalview.be)

The Urban Development Corporation (SAU) has issued a public procurement notice advertised at European level for the appointment of the private partner who will be responsible for designing, building, financing and maintaining the new headquarters of the Firefighting and Emergency Medical Assistance Service (SIAMU-DBDMH) of the Brussels-Capital Region. The procurement process concerns the construction of a facility of some 46,000m² to be used for the different functions necessary for the smooth running of the headquarters and the fire and emergency service, including intervention, logistical, technical and administrative rooms and rest and living quarters for the duty teams. The site chosen for the establishment of the headquarters is located on around 17,500m² of land belonging to the Port Business Park.

The SAU is acting in a delegated project management role on behalf of SIAMU-DBDMH at the request of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region.

As Gilles Delforge, the director of the SAU, explains, ‘We need to come up with a building today which will still meet SIAMU-DBDMH’s needs in several decades’ time. The objective is to keep the headquarters on a human scale and well integrated into its setting. The building must also be suitable for 24/7 occupation, with the comings and goings associated with its intervention, logistical and human activities at different levels and varying paces. We want to construct an exemplary building that will meet current and future environmental challenges, by ensuring, first, the flexibility required by the population’s changing needs and, second, the modularity required by changing work habits.’

Gilles Delforge specifies: ‘The SAU will pay particular attention to the sustainability of the plans for the new headquarters, which we want to be a model of its kind. Throughout the development, we will ask the project designers to opt for solutions that ensure maximum sustainability. This will be done by limiting adverse impacts on the environment, comfort and health and by taking those impacts into account over the entire life of the building and the elements of which it is constituted. The overall, sustainable vision for the building will be assessed at all phases of the project.’

The SAU wishes to implement this project by means of a public-private partnership structured according to the DBFM formula (Design, Build, Finance, Maintain). Subject to the specifications, which will be communicated to the candidates selected for the second phase of the contract, the winning candidate will bear the design, construction, financing and maintenance risks for a period of 30 years.

  • The deadline for the receipt of applications is 11 am on 16 May 2022.
  • The contract notice with complete information is available at www.publicprocurement.be.
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