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Thames Water names £4.2bn super sewer investors

Thames Water has named the special purpose company Bazalgette Tunnel Limited as the preferred bidder to deliver the Thames Tideway Tunnel.

The consortium made up of Allianz, Amber Infrastructure Group, Dalmore Capital Limited and DIF, is in line to own, finance and deliver the £4.2 billion super sewer project.

This bid was chosen ahead of a rival consortium that was led by Canadian pension fund Borealis in the final “revise and confirm” round.

Thames Water has managed the procurement process for the infrastructure provider, which will be independent from the water company and have its own licence from Ofwat, as well as selecting the contractors that will build the tunnel. Bazalgette Tunnel Limited will now take over responsibility for managing the contractors and overseeing the construction of the super sewer. It will be chaired by Sir Neville Simms, with former Crossrail programme director Andy Mitchell as chief executive.

The impact on customers’ bills will be announced later in the summer once all of the contracts have been signed but the maximum impact is estimated to be £70 to £80.

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. 

At the end of 2014, the project faced four legal challenges but the High Court rejected these and ruled in it favour in January this year.