Anglian Water has today announced who will form its new Strategic Pipeline Alliance after a competitive procurement process

The water company will join forces with construction and engineering giants Costain, Farrans, Jacobs and Mott MacDonald Bentley as part of a contract worth over £350 million, to complete one of the largest strategic water infrastructure projects the UK has ever seen.

The programme forms a key part of Anglian’s Water Resources Management Plan which looks 25 years ahead to manage and secure the water resources by safe-guarding against the potential future impacts of water scarcity, climate change and growth, while protecting the environment.

The water company says a vital element of its ambitious plan is to create up to 500km of interconnecting pipes and associated pumping equipment, as well as upgrading existing infrastructure to allow water transfer across Anglian Water’s region.

By installing new pipework to better join up the existing water network, the water company will be able to move water more freely around the region in stages, from areas of water surplus in north Lincolnshire down, to the south and east of the region, where it is less readily available.

“Complex and challenging major infrastructure development”

Anglian Water’s aim is to make the East resilient to the risks of drought by securing water supplies for future generations.

Strategic Pipeline Alliance Director, James Crompton, said:

“The challenges of population growth and a changing climate are felt nowhere more keenly than here in the East of England, which is one of the driest parts of the UK. Starting this project is a significant part of our planned investment in the region over the next five years, which will begin to tackle those challenges and secure customer supplies well into the future.

“The programme will make it possible to reduce the amount of water taken from the environment, as well as strengthening resilience by reducing the number of homes and businesses which rely on a single water source.

“It will be a complex and challenging major infrastructure development. It presents an exciting opportunity for these civil engineering, design and construction experts and we’re delighted to have four such prestigious partners on board.”

This latest contract builds on what the water company describes as its “already proven durability and success of an alliancing way of working.”

In 2015, Anglian water signed 15-year contracts with its existing partners but recognised the need for specialist engineering and construction for such a large-scale project. The tendering process to form the new strategic alliance began last year.

James Crompton continued:

“We’ve seen how successful and powerful a truly integrated and collaborative alliancing approach can be and now we’re building on it. Each of our new partners bring not only a wealth of experience but they also bring new mindsets, thinking and innovation for what is an incredibly exciting project, but also collectively, one of the largest investments in our water infrastructure we’ve made in recent years.”

Want to know more about winning new business in AMP7? The water companies in England and Wales are set to spend a record £51 billion in the next five years.

Our  new report Complete AMP7 Contracts Tier 1 Alliances and Tier 1 Contractors 2020-25 contains details of the companies, the alliances, the contracts they’re already working on in the UK water sector, together with hundreds of key named contacts - click here for more information.