Two major new alliances set to deliver billions of pounds worth of work and services for Thames Water signed long-term delivery contracts at a ceremony in London today.
Thames Water chief executive Martin Baggs and the CEOs and senior leaders of the partner companies gathered at the Gherkin, in the heart of the capital’s financial district, to set the seal on the largest contracts ever signed in the UK water industry.
In a move designed to transform the way Thames Water does business, it has established eight₂O and the infrastructure alliance to handle up to £4bn of capital investment programmes and network and developer services over the next five years, with an option to include other major scope in the future.
Immediately before today’s signing ceremony, Thames Water chief executive Martin Baggs hosted a meeting of all the CEOs involved in the two alliances.
The water company chief hailed the new partnerships as a fantastic opportunity, stressing all involved should be proud of the work that has been done to bring companies and joint ventures together in what he said heralded a “whole new era” for the water industry.
He said:
“The alliances will change the way we work and change the mindset, but it’s fantastic to have a team that’s all working together, focusing on our priorities of health and safety and customer service. Problems will be problems for all of us but we’ll share the benefits as well.”
Using the alliance model, Thames Water aims to achieve greater efficiency in the delivery of its business plan, with a greater emphasis on collaborative teamwork, innovation, health and safety, sustainability and an integrated supply community, giving long-term value to the company and its customers.
eight₂O comprises two design and build joint ventures – Costain and Atkins, and Skanska, MWH Treatment and Balfour Beatty (SMB) – as well as a programme manager in MWH and technology innovator IBM, with Thames Water acting as both client and partner. Together, they will carry out between £2bn and £2.5bn of work over the AMP6 period (2015-2020), with potential to extend contracts beyond this to 2025.
eight₂O chief operating officer Graham Keegan said:
“We're totally transforming investment in water infrastructure by combining expertise and best practice from multiple sectors and thinking differently at every level. We’re focused on delivering innovative, sustainable solutions which will bring real value to communities both now and in the future. Today marks a fantastic milestone and we look forward to working together to achieve our goals.”
A similar approach marks the infrastructure alliance, set up to deliver around £1bn worth of water network and developer services over the AMP6 period, with an option to include up to a further £0.5bn in additional network and metering services in the future.
The infrastructure Alliance partners are comprised of two separate joint ventures which were selected following a rigorous procurement process:
Agility - J. Murphy & Sons and Morrison Utility Services
KCD - Kier Services Ltd and Clancy Docwra
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Börger UK, which has firmly established itself as a leading pump brand since it was set up in Staffordshire in 2004, has moved into bigger, brand-new premises in Shrewsbury.
HUBER Technology UK & Ireland are inviting people to register for their March webinar where they will be providing information about HUBER water intake screens for municipal and industrial applications.
Sulzer has launched a new global Center of Excellence (CoE) for Water Treatment Solutions - the CoE consolidates Sulzer’s wastewater treatment expertise in a unified and global manner.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.