Water & Wastewater Treatment

Bazalgette Tunnel Ltd, known in the industry as Tideway, was set up as a licensed infrastructure provider specifically to finance, build, maintain and operate the 25km-long Thames Tideway Tunnel in 2015. The organisation is owned by a consortium of investors: Allianz, Amber Infrastructure, Dalmore Capital and DIF. This means more than 2 million UK pensioners ultimately have a stake in the super sewer. Three separate alliances have been working across the tunnel, which is now due to be completed in 2024. In west London, from Acton to Fulham, work is being delivered by a team of Bam Nuttall, Morgan Sindall and Balfour Beatty. Central London – from Fulham to Blackfriars – is covered by a joint venture of Ferrovial Agroman UK and Laing O'Rourke Construction. Costain is joined by two French-owned companies, Vinci Construction Grand Projets and Bachy Soletanche, to look a"er the eastern section of the tunnel out to Stratford. Three kilometres of the tunnel, which will prevent millions of tonnes of sewage polluting the Thames, have now been constructed. In 2019, Tideway announced that it had increased its project cost estimate by eight per cent to £3.8 billion. This included substantial investment in the company's river transport plans as well as taking account of unforeseen engineering challenges. Tideway confirmed that there will be no change to the estimated £20-25 annual cost range for Thames Water billpayers. "The year saw us encounter and resolve the two most significant challenges to date that were the key drivers to the revised cost estimate that we declared in April 2019, namely the gas main at Blackfriars and the unexpected ground conditions at King Edward Memorial Park," Tideway CEO Andy Mitchell said. "I am pleased to say that both of these situations are behind us now and are reflected in our new cost estimate and schedule and with all of our other sites well underway it is increasingly unlikely that we shall encounter any other surprises of this scale as we build out the bulk of our works over the coming year." Tideway's annual report said the company is delivering on its wider legacy commitments for London and the construction industry. To date, more than 100 apprentices have taken up positions on the Thames Tideway Tunnel project. A cohort of 12 tunnelling apprentices have started working across the project, in the first tunnelling apprenticeship of its kind in the industry. Through a partnership with the Construction Youth Trust, Tideway has also worked with around 7,000 young people in London schools to highlight the range of careers available in construction. Tideway chairman Sir Neville Simms said: "Building the super sewer for London is a huge responsibility and one that we are proud to have. I am very pleased with the progress our team has made this year – from the health, safety and wellbeing of our people to the construction of the tunnel itself. We have made this progress whilst always considering our impact on London's environment and its communities. We look forward to making significant headway underground in the year ahead." Tideway was recognised at the Sustainability Leaders Awards 2019 for its green approach to the use of transport in the project. The company took home the Mission Possible: Mobility award at the event organised by edie, WWT's sister brand focused on corporate sustainability. It beat off rivals in the category including Jaguar Land Rover, UPS and the London Borough of Greenwich. Central to Tideway's successful entry was its use of river transport to minimise the amount of road traffic required to carry equipment and excavated material. CLIENT: Bazalgette Tunnel Ltd PARTNERS: Bam Nuttall, Morgan Sindall and Balfour Beatty (West Section); Ferrovial Agroman UK & Laing O'Rourke Construction (Central Section); Costain, Vinci Construction Grand Projets, Bachy Soletanche (East Section) TERM: Until completion (est.2024) ALLIANCES 2020: TIDEWAY Trio of JVs making progress on super sewer Tideway 18 ALLIANCES 2020

• Cover