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Former chief executive of Tarmac and chairman of Carillion, Sir Neville Simms has been appointed as the Thames Tideway Tunnel chairman.
The announcement follows the release last week of the first tender documents for the construction of the £2.8 billion project.
Thames says the Tunnel, is “urgently required” to help tackle the discharge to the river of untreated sewage from London’s antiquated sewerage network.
The project’s new chairman, Simms, spent 35 years at Tarmac and its successor company Carillion.
He was also a founder member of the government’s Private Finance Panel and chaired Defra’s Sustainable Procurement Task Force.
Simms said: “The project is fundamental for London’s future growth and wellbeing. I strongly believe that it is now the turn of our generation to repeat the foresight of our Victorian ancestors and ensure that the capital’s sewerage system is fit for purpose for the 22nd century. London and the country deserve nothing less.”
Regulator Ofwat has already rejected a request from Thames Water to charge customers an extra £29 from next April to help fund the tunnel.
However, the water company subsequently proposed bill rises of £8 above inflation for each of the five years from 2015 in order to pay for it.
The Planning Inspectorate is currently examining an application for approval to start construction work at 24 sites across London with construction of the main tunnel due to begin in 2016, lasting seven years.
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