Contractors announced for £1.2bn Thames Water work

Thames Water, Britain's biggest water and sewerage firm, today awarded contracts for up to £1.2billion of essential work to improve and maintain its ageing water pipes, sewers and other facilities over the next five years.

The contracts were signed in the historic Oak Room at New River Head in Islington, the company's former London headquarters.

Martin Baggs, Thames Water's Chief Executive, said:

"In our continued drive to be more efficient for our 13 million customers we've completely changed the way we do our work. Instead of letting numerous small contracts to lots of providers, we're working with leading organisations to deliver the 'base load' of our investment programme for the next five years.

"This new approach has changed the way our contractors have bid for the work: they've formed joint ventures, each containing the required specialists. The way we've structured these programmes of work will also allow our contractors to plan further ahead and give them greater incentives to be efficient on cost and time.

"Our operational performance is better than ever right now - best-ever water quality*, best-ever sewage works compliance and leakage down 24 per cent in the past four years. Our new approach will help us build on these standards of excellence over the next five years."

The joint ventures awarded Thames Water's base load contracts are:

• Optimise (J Murphy & Sons/Clancy Docwra/Barhale/MWH) for north London and Thames Valley water pipes and sewers;
• MGJV (Morrison Utility Services/Galliford Try) for south London water pipes and sewers;
• GBM (Galliford Try/Biwater/Mott MacDonald) for north and south London water and sewage treatment works.

The work in these contracts includes:

• continuing to replace London's worn-out Victorian water mains,
• upgrading sewers to protect customers' homes from sewer flooding,
• improving water and sewage treatment works,
• and extending water and sewerage networks to accommodate future population growth.

Thames Water is still finalising a tender process for one remaining base load contract, which is set to be awarded within the next fortnight.