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Arup Atkins joint venture awarded Thames Tideway Tunnel contract

Thames Tideway Tunnel will be the biggest infrastructure project ever undertaken by the UK water industry

A joint venture between Atkins and Arup has been appointed a consultancy contract  to deliver a range of design and engineering services for BMB, the joint venture between BAM Nuttall, Morgan Sindall and Balfour Beatty, who have been appointed by Tideway to deliver the West section of London’s new ‘super sewer’, the Thames Tideway Tunnel.  

Valued at £416 million the six kilometre ‘West’ section of the 25km Thames Tideway Tunnel will run from Acton in West London to Wandsworth in South West London incorporating seven separate work sites along the route. Works will include design, construction, commissioning and maintenance following construction completion.  

When complete, the Thames Tideway Tunnel will ensure the capital’s sewer system is fit to support its projected population for at least the next 100 years, and will tackle the issue of discharges of untreated sewage that currently enter the River Thames on a regular basis.

The new tunnel will be the biggest infrastructure project ever undertaken by the UK water industry.

Nick Roberts, UK CEO at Atkins, said: “A healthy River Thames plays an essential role in the wellbeing and prosperity of the City of London and its people. The Thames Tideway Tunnel will help transform the river and we are very pleased that BMB chose the valuable experience, expertise and approach we’ve developed with Arup from projects such as Crossrail.”

Alan Belfield, UKMEA Chairman, Arup said: “The Thames Tideway Tunnel is one of the UK’s most challenging, yet important, infrastructure projects. We have already made great strides in creating a cleaner and safer River Thames but there is a clear need to modernise our essential infrastructure. Partnerships such as ours with Atkins will play a pivotal role in driving forward these major feats of engineering and we look forward to working together on this unique project to see the benefits it will provide to the city.”

Mobilisation work for the ‘West’ section started in September last year with completion scheduled for 2022.   

If you would like to contact Andy Walker about this, or any other story, please email awalker@infrastructure-intelligence.com.