Thames Water has invited three joint ventures to tender for the £5.7bnmain works contract for the White Horse Reservoir in Oxfordshire.
The shortlisted groups are WFH JV comprising Webuild, Hyundai Engineering and Construction and FCC Construccion; BMV+ comprising Bouygues Travaux Publics, J Murphy & Sons Ltd and VolkerFitzpatrick; and BBV comprising Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd and VINCI Construction Grands Projets.
The tender notice was issued in January this year and bidders were assessed on previous experience, ability to carry out activities such as tunnelling and mass earthworks, and finance. The three shortlisted joint ventures will submit their bids in spring next year and Thames Water expects to award the contract in autumn.
The design, build, test and commission contract for the 150 billion litre reservoir includes the construction of approximately 4km of tunnels to manage the flow between the River Thames and the reservoir.
The river tunnel will convey water between an inlet / outfall structure on the bank of the river near Culham and the White Horse Reservoir Pumping Station. The reservoir tunnels will carry water and house pipework between the pumping station and the internal control towers in the reservoir.
White Horse Reservoir – one of nine new reservoirs planned in England – aims to secure water supply for 15 million people in south-east England, including Thames Water, Affinity Water and Southern Water customers. The plan also includes 500ha for wildlife and recreation.
It is expected the reservoir will take around a decade to build and two winters to fill, with water available for use from 2040.
Thames Water plans to deliver the project using the funding model employed for the Thames Tideway Tunnel. It will appoint an independent infrastructure provider in 2029 to finance the project and deliver the reservoir with the main works contractor.
