Thames Water has launched procurement for a £242m tunnelling contract to support its Teddington Direct River Abstraction drought resilience scheme in west London.
The water company is seeking up to four bidders for the two-stage engineering and construction contract, with requests to participate due by 7 July.
The estimated contract period will run from October 2026 to March 2033, according to a tender notice released yesterday (28 May).
The package includes the design and construction of a 4.2km water tunnel using a tunnel boring machine. This would carry treated recycled water from Mogden Sewage Treatment Works to an outfall upstream of Teddington Weir.
A smaller tunnel, 150 metres long and 2.2 metres in diameter, will connect the River Thames to the existing Thames Lee Tunnel for water abstraction.
According to Thames Water, the tunnels would provide up to 75 million litres of water per day during drought conditions, “supported by water recycling”.
The project forms part of the firm’s Water Resource Management Plan, which was approved by the government last year and sets out the company’s plans to secure water supply for the next 50 years and beyond.
Funding for the project has also been approved by the regulator Ofwat under Thames Water’s 2025–30 business plan, with construction anticipated to start in 2029 subject to planning approval.
The contract will be let under the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract. Stage One will provide early contractor involvement during Thames Water’s planning and development consent process.
A notice to proceed with Stage Two will depend on consent being granted and a target price being agreed within the client’s budget.
Work will also include construction design, ground movement impact analysis, mechanical and electrical works, SCADA system installation, hydraulic modelling, enabling works and traffic management. Excavated material will be disposed of by the contractor.
Thames Water said a full commissioning phase will follow the main construction period, with a water-available-for-use target date set for March 2033.
Prospective bidders must submit responses to a procurement-specific questionnaire. Selection criteria include technical capability and financial standing, with the four top-scoring applicants to be invited to tender.
Evaluation will be weighted 70 per cent on quality and 30 per cent on price.
Source: Gov.uk Find a Tender
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Ben Vogel