United Utilities has partnered with seven companies to help it deliver £3bn of water infrastructure upgrades in the North West of England.
The companies picked for the framework are Volker Stevin and Jacobs joint venture C2V, Costain, Jacobs, Murphy, Kier Group, Mott MacDonald Bentley, and MWH Treatment.
They will carry out work under the Asset Management Period 8 (AMP8) for 2025-2030, which will see United Utilities invest £13.7bn across its network in the North West of England. Its AMP8 plan is subject to approval by the economic regulator Ofwat.
The AMP8 partners will provide project management, design, construction and commissioning services across United Utilities’ infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects. This includes water and wastewater treatment sites, pumping stations and reservoirs.
United Utilities has confirmed that the partners will be involved in the commissioning of ground engineering works as part of the framework.
The seven companies were appointed following a competitive tender process. Under the partnership, they will work collaboratively and at pace to deliver real transformation for customers and the environment in the North West, United Utilities has said.
Costain said that it will provide project management, engineering and design services under the framework. This will cover ground investigations, geotechnical studies, mechanical and electrical engineering, tunnel design, planning services, technical support, asset data gathering and environmental management.
Its scope of work will also cover construction and asset supportability services, including all enabling, temporary works, landscape and biodiversity mitigation requirements and coordination of construction activities to ensure regulatory compliance.
Costain’s appointment to the partnership is another win for the company after United Utilities extended its managed service provider contract for AMP8 with it in July last year.
Costain CEO Alex Vaughan said: “We’re delighted that this new contract win extends our relationship with United Utilities and that we can bring our leading strategic expertise to support upgrades of its critical infrastructure. This announcement builds on our growing positions with the leading water companies as they prepare for the vital AMP8 investment period.”
Murphy managing director of infrastructure Adrian Savory said: “Murphy has a long-established working relationship with United Utilities, which we are delighted to be further developing.
“Our purpose at Murphy is to improve life by delivering world-class infrastructure and we look forward to continuing to serve communities in the North West through our active participation in the integrated enterprise delivery organisation.”
United Utilities capital delivery director Jane Simpson commented: “We’re really excited that we have secured some strong delivery partners to ensure we can deliver on our ambitious plans to transform infrastructure and services in the North West.
“It will be our most ambitious programme yet and by putting this partnership in place with some of the best design and construction companies in the country, it allows us to get to work quickly and deliver the transformation that we know our customers want to see.”
United Utilities has said that if its £13.7bn AMP8 business plan is approved, it would represent the largest investment in water and wastewater infrastructure in the North West in more than a century, with investment expected to be double that of the previous cycle.
According to the company, the investment would support 30,000 jobs, including 7,000 new jobs within the company and wider supply chain.
Ofwat will review United Utilities’ proposals and give its draft response by July 2024. The final plans will be agreed by December 2024.
GE‘s sister title NCE has reported that decisions are to be announced on all utility companies’ AMP8 business plans – worth a combined £96bn – in December.