Three teams picked for £2.3bn Thames 'super-sewer'

Three preferred bidders for £2.3bn worth of construction contracts to build the Thames Tideway Tunnel have been announced.

The work packages for the ‘super-sewer’ have been split into three geographic sections of west, central, and east.

The west section, worth between £300m-£500m, has been won by BMB JV, a consortium between BAM Nuttall, Morgan Sindall and Balfour Beatty.

The central section, worth between £600m-£950m, has been won by FLO JV, a consortium between Ferrovial Agroman and Laing O’Rourke.

The east section, worth between £500m-£800m, has been won by CVB, a consortium between Costain, Vinci Grands Projets and Bachy Soletanche.

The contracts are expected to be formally awarded in the summer.

The project will be financed and delivered by a regulated infrastructure provider (IP), which is expected to be appointed in May. The IP will have its own licence from Ofwat.

The 25km-tunnel will run from Acton in the west of London through to Abbey Mills in the east.

The construction programme is scheduled to run from 2016 to 2023.

The Thames Tideway Tunnel will be the biggest infrastructure project ever under taken by the UK water industry. It will create more than 4,000 direct jobs.

Andy Mitchell, chief executive at Thames Tideway Tunnel, said: “We have selected our preferred bidders to carry out these major pieces of work safely, considerately and sustainably. We are looking forward to working with them to offer the thousands of jobs that will help make this project a reality.

“This is not just an engineering project, this is about reconnecting London with its river by cleaning it up and making it something that is integral to our city, for the growing population, thriving businesses and to increase leisure uses. This is a unique opportunity to be involved in improving London’s environment and economy and we’re very excited for what the future holds.”