Chancellor George Osborne has set out plans in the Budget for a “generous” tax regime for the emerging shale gas industry in the UK, which will undoubtedly bring opportunities for companies involved in water treatment.

Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water are two of four UK utility companies working together to provide a £21 billion package of network improvements over the next ten years in the North East of England.

British Water is leading its first delegation of UK water experts to Tripoli in April to connect companies with water and wastewater opportunities in Libya.

The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) has written to Chancellor George Osborne ahead of the 2013 Budget to set out a list of infrastructure priorities that need to be addressed if the sector is to fufil its potential in returning growth to the UK economy.

 

The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) today said that output figures for the construction industry in Q4 2012 show a welcome return to growth, but that the sector continues to face challenging trading conditions.

 

A report in yesterday’s Sunday Times newspaper has suggested that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair may have advised two sovereign wealth funds  - the China Investment Corporation (CIC) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) on investing in Thames Water.

The UK Government has said that it is on target to make up to £3 billion of annual savings on infrastructure projects with the publication this morning of the first annual report of the three-year Infrastructure Cost Review programme.

The first year programme of work also included a commitment to address the problems of cyclicality in the water sector as part of a joint study with Ofwat.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Richard Benyon has said that he “remains sceptical” on the cost of Thames Water’s proposed Thames Tunnel supersewer and that he could not possibly say that these would definitely be pegged at the current estimated level of £4.1 billion.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon George Osborne MP has called for more investment by Asian companies in UK infrastructure, citing Cheung Kong Group, owners of Northumbrian Water, as the example.

The Infrastructure Planning Commission has accepted for examination an application from Able Humber Ports Ltd for proposed port facilities located at Killingholme, Humberside.