{"id":20304,"date":"2026-08-31T06:51:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T06:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20304"},"modified":"2026-08-31T07:05:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T07:05:51","slug":"thames-water-teddington-tunnel-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20304","title":{"rendered":"Thames Water prepares \u00a3500m integrated tunnelling contract for Teddington Water Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The utility has terminated its previous procurement for a \u00a3242 million Tunnelling Main Works Contract and now intends to combine the project’s tunnelling, major civil engineering and new tertiary water-treatment facilities into a single construction package.<\/p>\n

The change represents a substantial new opportunity for the UK and international tunnelling supply chain, with Thames Water expected to begin procurement for the enlarged contract before the end of 2026.<\/p>\n

The Teddington Direct River Abstraction, or TDRA, scheme is being developed to increase London’s resilience to prolonged drought and forms part of Thames Water’s long-term Water Resources Management Plan.<\/p>\n

At the centre of the project is a new approximately\u00a04.2 km long, 3.5 m internal diameter tunnel<\/strong>\u00a0between Mogden Sewage Treatment Works and the River Thames upstream of Teddington Weir.<\/p>\n

The tunnel is planned to be excavated using a tunnel boring machine and the reference design includes\u00a0four shafts<\/strong>. It will carry highly treated recycled water from a new tertiary treatment facility at Mogden to a new discharge structure on the Thames.<\/p>\n

A second underground connection will be constructed between the new river abstraction intake and the existing Thames Lee Tunnel. Earlier procurement documentation described this as a smaller diameter connection of up to approximately\u00a02.2 m internal diameter<\/strong>, installed by pipe jacking. The latest reported design puts this connection at approximately\u00a0150 m long<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

During periods of drought, Thames Water would abstract up to\u00a075 million litres of water per day<\/strong>\u00a0from the River Thames upstream of Teddington Weir. The water would be transferred via the Thames Lee Tunnel towards the Lee Valley reservoirs for treatment and use within London’s drinking-water network.<\/p>\n

To maintain river flows, wastewater from Mogden Sewage Treatment Works would undergo an additional treatment process in the proposed tertiary treatment plant before being transferred through the new tunnel and returned to the Thames.<\/p>\n

Thames Water says the system would principally operate during drought conditions, currently estimated at approximately once every two years, with the treatment facility operating at a lower maintenance flow at other times.<\/p>\n

The company’s original tunnelling procurement was launched on 28 May 2025 under reference\u00a0SO2267<\/strong>, with an estimated value of\u00a0\u00a3242 million including VAT<\/strong>. Thames Water planned to shortlist up to four contractors, with the procurement structured around an early contractor involvement and subsequent construction phase.<\/p>\n

That competition has now been terminated. Thames Water has confirmed that the decision not to proceed with the contract award was taken on\u00a06 July 2026<\/strong>. Although the company was not required to issue a Procurement Termination Notice, it said it was doing so voluntarily to provide transparency and certainty to the market.<\/p>\n

Rather than separately appointing tunnelling and treatment contractors, Thames Water will now seek a single principal contractor responsible for the main civil engineering, tunnelling and advanced treatment plant works.<\/p>\n

\"Teddington<\/p>\n

The revised strategy is intended to reduce interfaces between major construction packages while improving programme control and delivery certainty. The enlarged package is reported to have a value of approximately\u00a0\u00a3500 million<\/strong>, making it one of the most significant forthcoming UK water-sector tunnelling procurements.<\/p>\n

The change follows continuing development of the TDRA design. Following statutory consultation during 2025, Thames Water held a further supplementary consultation between\u00a021 May and 18 June 2026<\/strong>, including revised proposals around Burnell Avenue. Other design developments have included changes to the location of the tertiary treatment plant within Mogden Sewage Treatment Works and modifications to the project’s surface works and tunnel connections.<\/p>\n

Thames Water now intends to submit its Development Consent Order application in\u00a0early 2027<\/strong>. Subject to planning, procurement and regulatory approvals, the main construction programme is expected to begin in\u00a02029<\/strong>\u00a0and run for approximately four years.<\/p>\n

The scheme is being progressed against the backdrop of a significant projected water-supply deficit in London. Thames Water has forecast that the capital could face a shortfall of around\u00a0one billion litres per day by 2050<\/strong>\u00a0without additional measures.<\/p>\n

Ofwat has also continued to support development of the scheme through the RAPID process. Its Gate Three decision records an AMP8 development allowance of\u00a0\u00a331.05 million<\/strong>, with earlier underspend also permitted to be carried forward to support further project development.<\/p>\n

For tunnelling contractors and specialist suppliers, attention will now turn to Thames Water’s replacement procurement. The decision to combine the tunnel, shafts, river structures, civil engineering and treatment works creates a substantially larger opportunity than the original \u00a3242 million tunnelling contract, with the new competition expected to reach the market before the end of 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The utility has terminated its previous procurement for a \u00a3242 million Tunnelling Main Works Contract and now intends to combine the project’s tunnelling, major civil engineering and new tertiary water-treatment facilities into a single construction package. The change represents a substantial new opportunity for the UK and international tunnelling supply chain, with Thames Water expected to begin procurement for the enlarged contract before the end of 2026. The Teddington Direct River Abstraction, or TDRA, scheme is being developed to increase London’s resilience to prolonged drought and forms part of Thames Water’s long-term Water Resources Management Plan. At the centre of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":20306,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[5460,5461,4889,3434,321],"class_list":["post-20304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-mogden-sewage-treatment-works","tag-tdra-design","tag-teddington-direct-river-abstraction","tag-thames-water","tag-tunnelling","post--single"],"yoast_head":"\nThames Water Prepares \u00a3500m Teddington Tunnel Contract<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thames Water prepares a \u00a3500m integrated tunnelling contract for the Teddington Direct River Abstraction scheme, with procurement expected by late 2026.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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