The first major construction contract for the London Tideway Tunnels scheme has been awarded to the MVB joint venture which brings together Morgan Est Bachy Soletanche and Vinci Construction Grands Projets.
Thames Water’s £400M – plus preferred partner contract is for construction of the 7m internal diameter, 6.9km long Lee Tunnel which will run from Abbey Mills Pumping Station to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works.
Works include the construction of two, 25 metre internal diameter shafts and one 20 metre shaft (two at Beckton and one at Abbey Mills) and a 38 metre diameter off-line Tideway Pumping Station Shaft. The works will also include the furnishing and installation of the pumping equipment, as well as the necessary automatic actions for the management of the effluents and their lift to 80 metres.
Once complete the tunnel will improve the quality of water flowing into the River Thames and its tributaries by intercepting storm sewage flows which currently discharge into the River Lee.
Chris Hughes, Joint Venture Board Director for MVB, said:
“The tunnel and associated shafts are to be constructed between 65 metres to 75 metres below ground level. The joint venture was formed to bring the best skills and construction expertise to bear on this challenge. This contract is a significant win and it demonstrates Thames Water’s faith in the joint venture’s ability to deliver the first stage of the Thames Tideway programme.”
Work will start in April 2010 and the tunnel will be complete by the end of 2014 to comply with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive set by the European Union.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
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