Thames Water is inviting interested suppliers to submit Requests to Participate in the procurement process for its proposed £242 million Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) Tunnelling main works contract. Total estimated value is currently £242 million including VAT.
The water company is looking for specialists who can deliver two tunnels. Announcing the procurement, Mohit Farmah - Head of Procurement and Supply Chain at Thames Water commented:
“We’re seeking industry leading tunnelling experts to help us deliver this nationally significant infrastructure project, as we work to secure water supply for millions of Londoners. “The capital city and our customers rely on us for a safe and secure supply of water and this project will be vital as we work to meet the challenges ahead, from a growing population to the effects of climate change, including hotter, drier summers.”
Scope of the works will cover the design, build, test and commission of the following two main components:
1. A recycled water conveyance tunnel from Mogden Sewage Treatment Works (STW) to Teddington
A new approximately 4.2km long tunnelled conveyance route approximately 3.5m internal diameter (ID) would be driven using a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) and constructed to connect a new Tertiary Treatment Plant (provided by others) in Mogden STW to the proposed outfall on the riverbank of the River Thames upstream of Teddington Weir. The tunnel would have four shafts.
2, River abstraction and transfer to the existing Thames Lee Tunnel (TLT)
The river abstraction would be located approximately 175m upstream of the proposed new outfall. The abstracted river flow would be conveyed to the TLT through a smaller diameter (up to 2.2m ID) pipe installed using a pipe jacking technique.
The wide-ranging scope will include:
- Construction Design activities
- Building M&E
- Civils and Structural engineering including earthworks
- Enabling works
- Drainage
- Geotechnical
- Ground movement impact
- MEICA including a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system
- Hydraulic Modelling
- Materials durability
- Renewables / Carbon mitigation
- Rivers and Watercourses
- Traffic & Highways
- Shafts & Tunnels
- Utilities
- Disposal of excavated material
The scheme is currently at the pre-application stage of the Planning Inspectorate process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs).
The NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract comprise two stages, with a decision point as to whether to proceed to construction between Stages One and Two. If the decision point is passed, then a Notice to Proceed (NTP) will be issued.
Stage One - Early Contractor Involvement - will provide construction related support to the client during its planning process, which comprises an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO).
Using the DCO reference design (provided by others) as a constraint to the scope, the TDRA Tunnelling MWC will develop the design for construction, which will be integrated with construction planning, into the subsequent Stage Two, being the delivery / construction phase.
The decision gate to proceed to Stage Two will be dependent on a number of factors, including:
- An accepted design that meets the requirements of the contract;
- agreement on a target price; and
- the granting of the DCO.
The agreement of a target price for Stage Two will be constrained by the client's budget and will be developed in accordance with a Pricing Information Schedule appended to the contract. The Pricing Information Schedule will include an exhaustive list of specific "Adjustment Events" which may adjust the target price for Stage Two.
Subject to the issue of a Notice to Proceed, Stage Two will commence with an initial period to comply with any secondary consenting issues, followed by mobilisation to commence construction. Following construction, a testing and commissioning phase will be required with a scheduled target date of Water Available for Use (WAFU) of 31 March 2033.
Current estimated contract start and end dates are 2 October 2026 to 31 March 2033.
Deadline to submit enquiries about the contract is 11:00am on 20 June 2025, followed by a deadline for requests to participate of 11:00am on 7 July 2025.
Thames Water is asking interested parties to complete a simple Registration of Interest online form providing company name and contact details of two people from the organisation with whom the water company can correspond. Click here to access the Thames Water Procurement - SO2267 TDRA Tunnelling MWC - Registration of Interest form online.
Once the form has been completed and submitted applicants will then be sent an invitation to access the secure Project SharePoint site containing the Procurement Specific Questionnaire Pack (PSQ Pack) and submission portal. They will then have access to the PSQ and related documents necessary to complete their initial submission and an exclusive document library to upload their responses.
Estimated contract award decision date is 2 October 2026.
In September 2024 the water company published a series of design changes to its proposed Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) project following consultation feedback from over 2,000 people. Thames Water also appointed a Jacobs Mott MacDonald joint venture as its Technical Partner to lead development proposals for vital new infrastructure.
The water company has also established a dedicated website for the project - click here
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