Ofwat has awarded a contract for a programme-wide Value for Money (VfM) appraisal of the Major Water Infrastructure Programme (MWIP) to identify, test and prioritise credible cost reduction and VfM opportunities, with a focus on decisions that can influence cost, schedule, risk and deliverability at the early stages of the project lifecycle across identified VfM drivers.
The study, which is now underway, will adopt a two-stage approach to delivery:
Stage 1 will provide a programme-wide VfM assessment, covering VfM drivers and identifying, testing and prioritising credible opportunities. Greater emphasis will be placed on those drivers where there is currently greatest potential to influence VfM, particularly given the maturity of assets within the Reservoir Programme.
Stage 2 will comprise subsequent steps required to further develop, evidence and unlock priority opportunities identified through Stage 1. These may include targeted technical, commercial or delivery assessments, where required. Any such subsequent work will be defined and commissioned separately based on the findings and recommendations from Stage 1.
The objectives of the services are to:
- Identify potential VfM drivers across MWIP.
- Challenge and develop the initial opportunities through structured input from relevant industry and technical experts.
- Identify and prioritise the most significant opportunities for further assessment.
- Quantify potential benefits, where sufficient evidence is available, including potential cost and schedule benefits and wider value.
- Assess each priority opportunity against cost, schedule, risk, deliverability, commercial implications and wider value.
- Identify key assumptions, evidence gaps, confidence levels, dependencies, enabling conditions and risks.
- Assess the implications for delivery approaches, governance, commercial models and wider system enablers.
- Identify opportunities that may be applicable across the wider Reservoir Programme and, where relevant, other asset types in MWIP.
- Develop practical recommendations for taking priority opportunities forward.
- Provide Ofwat and relevant stakeholders with a robust and transparent evidence base to support decision-making.
The contract has been awarded to Allora Infrastructure Ltd and was signed on 1 August 2026. Contract term runs from 1 August 2026 to 31 October 2026, with a possible extension to 31 December 2026.
The UK-based strategic infrastructure consultancy works with organisations to improve how infrastructure is invested, delivered, and managed across three core services:
- Strategies for Infrastructure Investment
- New Delivery Models
- Delivery Model Performance
Water sector clients Allora has worked with include Anglian Water, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water
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