The BIS is the owner’s specification for the plant he intends to purchase. The main purpose of the BIS is to provide the bidders (that is, the prospec­tive vendors) with the necessary information to prepare their bids. It is through the BIS that the owner informs the bidders regarding the following:

• The scope of supply he expects to be offered

• The technical requirements in terms of plant design, procurement, con­struction, commissioning, operation and maintenance

• The manner in which he wishes the project to be implemented through­out the various execution phases

• The commercial and contractual terms and conditions he wishes to agree on with the successful bidder

• The structure, organisation and extent of technical, commercial and other information he expects to receive with the bid, to facilitate his evaluation and understanding of what is proposed by the bidder.

When organising, structuring and drafting the BIS documents, an impor­tant aspect to keep in mind is that they will serve as the basis from which will be developed the documents that will later constitute the contract between the owner and the successful bidder. Therefore, when preparing the BIS, one should always look ahead to how the contract documents will be organised and structured.

The BIS structure and contents very much depend on the contractual approach selected and the scope of supply requested by the owner. However, no matter which contractual model and scope of supply are chosen by the owner, and notwithstanding the bidding process the owner intends to follow (e. g. competitive bidding or direct negotiations with a single bidder), it is essential to prepare BIS documents that are specifically targeted at the particular circumstances of the project, describing the owner’s requirements and conditions for plant delivery, providing the bidder with the information he requires to prepare his bid, and outlining to the bidder the information expected from him in the bid for a fuller understanding of what is being offered and for easier bid evaluation. There are many ways to structure the information to be included in the BIS, and any reasonable one is acceptable, as long as the information is complete.

Following is an example of how the BIS may be structured for a plant that the owner has decided to purchase complete (i. e. including nuclear island, turbine island and balance of plant) under a turnkey contract approach (i. e. including engineering and design, equipment supply, con­struction and commissioning). The BIS contents are organised into a number of separate documents, each dedicated to a specific topic, as can be seen

The following sections present an overview of each of the above-indicated BIS documents. This tentative BIS table of contents, built around a com­plete plant under turnkey contract, may also be used as a guide in drafting up the BIS documents when the plant is to be purchased by large split packages (e. g. nuclear island separate from the turbine island), each of which could be contracted on a turnkey basis, or even for a multi-package or ‘by components’ approach under direct management of the owner. The BIS structure could be basically the same, but the contents of each docu­ment would have to be tailored according to the specific scope of supply and contractual approach selected by the owner.