By rosebell
Thames Water has decided not to proceed with the award of the Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) tunnelling main works contract while it reviews its procurement strategy.
The company says that following further design development, technical assessments, site investigations and stakeholder engagement the project should be delivered through a single consolidated main works contract incorporating both the tunnelling works and the tertiary treatment plant works.
“The revised approach materially differs from the procurement structure originally advertised and, accordingly, TWUL has decided to discontinue the current procurement and commence a new procurement process,” the company says.
Thames Water expects to start a new procurement process for a single consolidated main works contract towards the end of this year.
The river abstraction on the River Thames, supported by water recycling, is designed to help support London during periods of prolonged dry weather.
Abstracted water would be conveyed along a new pipeline connecting to an existing underground tunnel. This would flow up to 75 million litres of water a day to reservoirs to become drinking water.
Water would be replaced with recycled water from Mogden Sewage Treatment Works. It would transfer to the river along a new underground tunnel to an outfall structure.
The system would be operated only during droughts.
The change in procurement approach is to help manage construction risk in a live operational environment like Mogden Sewage Treatment Works. Thames Water says the changes have improved the scheme’s safety, viability and operability, and reduced potential impacts on local communities and the surrounding environment.
The single consolidated package approach will allow for a single party to own the phasing and logistics of the construction stage; manage interfaces between critical assets in close proximity to each other; and allow the contractor to own the design with more independence.
The approach also reduces the need for client oversight and approval and provides greater commercial certainty between all parties.
