Thames Water selects Bazalgette Tunnel for £4.2bn super-sewer project in London, UK

UK based water utility Thames Water has selected Bazalgette Tunnel as a preferred bidder for delivering the £4.2bn super-sewer project in London.

Bazalgette Tunnel is a newly developed entity formed by a group of investors including Allianz Capital Partners, Amber Infrastructure Group, Dalmore Capital and DIF.

The consortium is expected to own, finance and deliver the project following formal designation and licensing by UK water industry’s economic regulator Ofwat.

Operating as the infrastructure provider for the project, Bazalgette Tunnel will be responsible for managing the construction contractors for the project.

The tunnel has been planned to be 7.2m wide, 25km long and is expected to have a depth of up to 65m below the Thames River.

It will connect Acton in the west to Abbey Mills near Stratford in the east, where it will meet with Lee Tunnel, which is presently being constructed by Thames Water.

The project is intended to reduce the annual sewage overflows into the river

Delivery model for the project has been developed by the Thames Water in co-ordination with the UK government and Ofwat.

The firm has also started selecting contractors for the construction, details for which is likely to be announced by the firm later in the summer.

Besides tackling untreated sewage discharges into the river, the project is also expected to increase the capacity of the sewerage network in the UK capital.

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Image: The Lee Tunnel will connect with the Thames Tideway Tunnel. Photo: courtesy of Thames Tideway Tunnel Ltd.