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The deadline by which the preferred bidder to finance and build the £4.2 billion Thames Tideway Tunnel has been extended by a month because the two bids received are too close to call.
According to reports in the Sunday Times, one bid is said to be from a consortium featuring insurance firm Allianz, fund manager Dalmore Capital, Amber Infrastructure and the Dutch DIF fund, and the other led by Borealis – which is said to be in discussions with Severn Trent regarding a potential takeover.
They have both been given until the middle of next month to submit their final offers, which could see consumer bills increase by £70 and £80 per year.
A spokesperson for the Thames Tideway Tunnel said they would “not comment on speculation”.
The super sewer project has been designed to run 25km along the River Thames between Acton and Abbey Mills and intercept 34 combined sewer overflows.
It will divert surface water and sewage discharge to a wastewater treatment facility rather than allowing it to discharge directly into the river.
A failure to tackle the sewage overflow into Thames after periods of heavy or intense rainfall would leave UK facing EU fines of up to £100 million a year.
However, the project faced four legal challenges at the end of 2014, but the High Court rejected these and ruled in favour of the project in January this year.
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