Birmingham council insisted this week that it was still on track to revamp the city’s streets and lights with private cash, despite the withdrawal of a second bidder for the £2bn project. The Atkins/EDF Energy consortium announced it was pulling out last week, pleading ‘purely commercial reasons’. Four months after Mouchel Parkman’s exit, the decision comes as best and final offers are due for the 25-year highway maintenance contract under the PFI. Trade unions opposed to the transfer of the workforce also chose last week to launch a campaign to mobilise public opinion against privatisation of the highways service. Claiming the council’s business case had exaggerated its maintenance backlog, Amicus argued that prudential borrowing offered better value for money than PFI. In a terse statement, Birmingham council said: ‘After preliminary evaluation of the bids received, the council is confident that the two remaining bids are both competitive and will provide effective solutions.’ It offered no further comment. The remaining contenders are Amey PLC, and Birmingham Street Services – a consortium involving Ringway and its parent VINCI. Atkins said: ‘We have been reviewing the nature of this contract for some time and decided the structure of this business is not right for us.’ A spokesman said union opposition was not a specific factor. Amicus challenged the council’s estimate that 80% of streetlighting stock was more than 30 years old and due for replacement in five-to-seven years. It ignored around 1,500 new streetlights installed since 2001 and significant developer-funded schemes in the city centre. ‘The business case for privatisation is flawed,’ said national officer John Allott. ‘The claims are out of date, over-extravagant and not evidenced.’