This month, we’re bringing you a double helping of updates from the transport and infrastructure world, covering the big contracts from December and January. Two months, twice the insight – perfect for kicking off the year with a clear view of what’s happening across the sector.
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Ofwat has approved a £104bn investment plan to improve water quality, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability from 2025 to 2030. The plan includes £12bn to reduce storm overflow spills, £6bn to tackle nutrient pollution, and £3.3bn for nature-based solutions.
It also earmarks £2bn for major water infrastructure projects, including new reservoirs and water transfer schemes.
Find out more information here.
Scottish Water has initiated its largest-ever procurement programme, Delivery Vehicle 4 (DV4), valued between £5bn and £9bn, to enhance Scotland’s water and wastewater infrastructure from 2027 to 2033. There is potential to extend the contract to 2039.
DV4 will replace the 12-year-old Delivery Vehicle 1 (DV1) and will oversee asset investments, managing high-value and complex construction and engineering projects. Scottish Water is shifting to an “advanced partnering” model, moving from traditional contracting to a more collaborative approach.
The procurement is advertised as one contract notice in two parts, encouraging collaboration with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro-specialists to boost efficient and effective project delivery.
Thames Water has appointed 10 companies to support its infrastructure upgrades over the next five years, under a £400m Asset, Capital, and Engineering Professional Services framework for Asset Management Period 8 (2025-2030).
The selected firms include AECOM, Arcadis, AtkinsRéalis, Binnies, Costain, CPC Project Services, Jacobs, Mott MacDonald, Stantec, and Turner & Townsend.
Thames Water is also advancing plans for the Abingdon Reservoir in Oxfordshire, an estimated £2.2bn project.
They have announced a bidders day, scheduled for the 17th of March 2025, to provide an opportunity for contractors and investors to learn more about the project and its requirements. Interested parties are required to register their interest by the 24th of January 2025.
Find out more about the day here.
United Utilities has awarded a £500 million minor works framework to 30 local firms to support its water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades in the North West of England.
They have chosen 20 local, civils-based firms and 10 mechanical and electrical specialists to work on its £500m+ minor works framework.
The framework, which runs from 2025 to 2030, covers a range of maintenance, repair, and improvement projects. This initiative aims to boost local economies by engaging regional contractors and ensuring sustainable project delivery.
Find out more about the winning contractors here.
Yorkshire Water has awarded a five-year, £850 million framework contract to seven contractors, including Kier, Galliford Try, Tilbury Douglas, Barhale, Glanua, Mott MacDonald Bentley, and Ward & Burke.
The contract is part of Yorkshire Water’s £8.3bn environmental investment plan for 2025-2030.
The appointed firms will deliver civil engineering, mechanical and electrical works, as well as instrumentation, control, automation, and building capabilities across the utilities network during AMP8.
The framework may be extended by an additional five years to cover AMP9.
Southern Water has awarded £540 million of contracts to three companies to enhance its wastewater network across the South East – Lanes Group, Cappagh Browne, and McAllister Bros. The contracts are set to commence in April 2025 and will span AMP8, with the potential for extensions.
Lanes Group will be responsible for maintenance and manhole workstreams, Cappagh Browne will oversee sewer rehabilitation projects and McAllister Bros will focus on sewer sealing.
HS2 has (finally!) awarded £3bn of contracts for the design and installation of its rail systems. This was long overdue, with the bidding process having started many years ago.
The contract allocations are as follows:
These contracts encompass turning nearly 140 miles of tunnels, bridges, and earthworks into an operational railway capable of 225 mph speeds. A Rail Systems Alliance will coordinate contractor efforts, ensuring efficient design, logistics, and scheduling to meet cost and timeline goals.
Costain has secured a contract worth at least £400m from HS2 to deliver tunnel and lineside mechanical and electrical systems. Work is set to commence in the first quarter of 2025 for a seven-year period, with the option for additional contract extensions.
Costain will handle the design, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of these systems during HS2’s construction phase.
A joint venture between Siemens Mobility and Costain has won a contract to deliver high voltage power supply systems for HS2. The contract is valued at c£300m, with optional contract extensions.
A separate seven-year maintenance contract, following the design and build phase, is valued at around £32m.
Southeastern and Hitachi Rail have agreed to a new maintenance contract for the Class 395 “Javelin” trains, extending their partnership until at least 2027.
This agreement transitions from a Train Service Agreement to a Technical Support & Spares Supply Agreement, bringing maintenance in-house for Southeastern, with Hitachi providing technical support and spare parts.
The collaboration aims to reduce maintenance costs, improve train availability, and continue the £27 million refurbishment programme, enhancing both internal and external features of the fleet.
The new arrangements commence on 12 January 2025, with certain Hitachi Rail staff transferring to Southeastern under TUPE regulations.
AECOM and Rejlers have secured a contract with the Swedish Transport Administration to develop the North Bothnia Line, a 270-kilometre railway connecting Umeå and Luleå in Sweden.
Their responsibilities include producing line studies, railway plans with environmental impact assessments and managing permits and preparations for future construction.
Telent has secured a contract with National Highways to provide WiFi services across the UK’s strategic road network. The value of the contract has not been disclosed, but it is expected to enhance connectivity for operational teams and travellers.
The scope of the contract includes installing, maintaining, and supporting wireless systems to ensure reliable communication across major roadways.
Costain has secured a three-year extension to its contract with Cadent, extending their partnership until 2029. This extension involves Costain continuing its role in managing Cadent’s gas distribution network upgrade programme, focusing on enhancing the safety and reliability of gas supplies.
Cadent has awarded United Living Infrastructure Services (ULIS) a multi-million-pound contract. Working with Cadent, ULIS will divert a 600m section of the existing Alrewas to Ebstree high-pressure gas pipeline to facilitate the future construction of National Highways M54 to M6 link road in the West Midlands.
Arup has partnered with Equatic to develop the world’s first large-scale ocean carbon removal facility.
Arup’s role includes providing technical and advisory services to support Equatic in scaling its technology, identifying optimal deployment locations, and designing for seamless implementation.
Taylor Woodrow has been awarded a contract by ScottishPower Renewables to perform civil engineering works for the onshore substation of the £4bn East Anglia TWO offshore wind farm.
The scope of work includes highway improvements and landscaping in Friston, near Saxmundham, Suffolk.
Balfour Beatty has been awarded a contract by Prysmian to install 69km of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) land cables for the £4.3bn Eastern Green Link 2 project, aiming to connect renewable energy sources from Scotland to England.
Three construction consortia have been shortlisted to build the UK’s prototype nuclear fusion power plant, known as the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), at the West Burton power station site in Nottinghamshire. The consortia are:
The selected partners will be responsible for delivering a site development programme. Construction of the prototype plan is anticipated to commence in the early 2030s, with operations expected around 2040.
Two engineering teams have also been announced on a shortlist for the project. They are:
Main contracts for the construction and engineering team are expected to be awarded at the end of 2025 or early 2026.
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has awarded a £550 million Airfield Infrastructure Framework to seven firms for projects at Manchester, London Stansted, and East Midlands Airports.
The selected partners are Arup, Jacobs, Volker Fitzpatrick, Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure, Dyer & Butler, Allied Infrastructure (a Colas-owned company), and Amalgamated Construction.
The firms will undertake key projects, including airfield improvements, runway resurfacing, aircraft stand development, and airfield ground lighting systems.
Find out more about each company's respective contract here.
The UK Government has put contractors on notice for a seven-year construction framework worth up to £80bn, managed by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS).
The framework, titled “Construction Works and Associated Services including Healthcare and Offsite Solutions”, aims to centralise procurement across various departments and public sector bodies. It encompasses the design, manufacture, supply, and installation of construction works and services, including offsite construction solutions.
The contract is expected to start on 31 October 2026 and end on 30 October 2034, with an approach to market commencing in January 2025.
Balfour Beatty and Robertson have been selected to deliver the £333 million North Schools Programme.
The contractors will construct five new schools in collaboration with development partner Hub North Scotland and participating local authorities.
Morgan Sindall has been appointed to convert a nine-storey office building at 17 Columbus Courtyard, Canary Wharf, into a science research and technology hub.
Work is scheduled to begin this month, with completion expected in the third quarter of 2026.
Has your company been awarded one of these contracts? Do you need help hiring senior leaders to lead these projects? Email me at jn@newsomconsulting.co.uk to discuss.
