Laing O'Rourke consortium signs £450m water deal

A joint venture comprising Laing O’Rourke, Jacobs and Veolia Water has signed a £450m deal with Scottish Water to deliver part of its £2.5bn capital investment programme.

The deal will see the three firms form a joint venture with the publicly-owned Scottish Water, called Scottish Water Solutions, to be led by the director of Veolia Water Scotland, Nigel Earnshaw.

He said he was “delighted” to win the “substantial part of Scottish Water’s capital programme.”

The contract is to improve water infrastructure across the country, including work to improve the quality of drinking water.

Scottish government minister for infrastructure, transport and climate change Stewart Stevenson welcomed the joint venture. He said: “This will enable Scottish Water - which plays a vital role in protecting public health, improving the environment and enabling development - to roll out its new investment programme and further support Scotland’s economic recovery.”

Steve Hollingshead, Laing O’Rourke’s managing director of infrastructure services said: “We look forward to serving each and every community quickly and efficiently.”