DIO said it would select five firms to bid to build the latest accommodation project at the base, valued between £35-£45m.

More service accommodation is needed at the Carterton base in Oxfordshire as personnel from RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire are redeployed as it is converted to become major engineering training campus for military equipment.

An industry day is planned ahead of the procurement race with more details available by emailing Iain Anderson at [email protected]

Suppliers interested in working with the Ministry of Defence should register on the MOD Supplier Information Database (SID) Register, available at www.contracts.mod.uk.