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Portsmouth secures £325m needed to build reservoir

Portsmouth Water has secured the full £325 million in funding that it needs to construct its Havant Thicket Reservoir.

The 8.7 billion litre reservoir will be the first built in England since the 1980s.

Lenders include ING, Lloyds Bank, Nat West, Abrdn, Assured Guaranty, Pension Insurance Corporation and Siemens Financial Services through Siemens Bank. Portsmouth Water has also secured a £50 million commitment from the government-owned UK Infrastructure Bank, in the first investment of its kind for the sector.

This is in addition to the equity commitment of £150 million from existing shareholders, Ancala Partners, which was announced last month.

Bob Taylor, chief executive for Portsmouth Water, said: “We are delighted to have secured the £325 million investment required to construct Havant Thicket Reservoir. This will be the first large scale water storage reservoir to be built in the UK since the 1980s.

“It will play a key role in protecting internationally important chalk rivers – the River Test and the River Itchen, by securing a new, sustainable source of water for the region. This is an exciting time for the project. We have recently taken a major step forward in awarding the main reservoir works contract and, with all capital and investment now secured, look forward to work progressing on site.”

Planning permission for the scheme was approved in 2021 and early works started this year with clay being dug out and an embankment beginning to take shape. The project is anticipated to be completed in 2029 to come online by the end of the decade.

Last month, Portsmouth awarded contracts worth more than £200 million for the construction of the Havant Thicket Reservoir and connecting pipelines.

The project will ultimately be paid for by Southern Water, which will benefit from the resource via a bulk supply agreement with neighbouring Portsmouth.

Once built it will enable supply of up to 21 million litres of water per day to Southern Water.