Tideway, the company building London’s new super sewer, has released an update on progress and a revision to its cost estimate.
At the close of financial year 2022/23, with construction work nearly 90% complete, the company confirms that sewage overflows will start to be diverted away from the Thames into the new 25km sewer tunnel in 2024.
The project remains on course to be fully operational in 2025 with handover to Thames Water likely to be in the second half of that year.
Thames Tideway has updated its cost estimate to take account of the remaining work programme and the impacts of inflation to £4.5bn, reflecting an increase of approximately 2% since its last report six months ago.
When fully operational in 2025 the new infrastructure will capture 95% of overflows from London’s sewerage network, improving the water quality of the River Thames.
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The Thames Tideway tunnel, a flagship project which will help tackle London’s outdated and polluting sewerage system, has had its costs increase by a further two per cent.
The Thames Tideway Tunnel scheme – part of the government’s drive to improve London’s sewage system – is a 25 mile ‘super sewer’ under the River Thames. It is designed to reduce the city’s reliance on Victorian-era sewerage infrastructure which discharges millions of tonnes of untreated wastewater into the Thames each year.
The cost of the project has already gone up from the initial estimate of £4.2 billion to an announced figure of £4.6billion. In their latest Construction Project Update issued on the 8th April, Tideway has revealed that the cost of the project is set to increase further, by two per cent – to an increase of £4,674,404,500.
The cost increase is attributed to higher than expected inflationary increases, specifically in major areas such as labour, plant and materials. In addition, the challenges of working on a unique project on the riverbed of the Thames has led to the need to adjust on site methods, leading to a revised tendered price.
The Thames Tideway Tunnel is aiming to deliver much-needed modernisation of the capital’s sewage infrastructure, and is due to be completed in 2024. As well as reducing the amount of untreated wastewater entering the Thames, it will also bring long-term benefits such as improved water quality in the river, enhanced biodiversity and economic benefits such as job creation and skills training.
The rising costs of this major engineering project could be viewed as yet another blow to a strained public purse. However, it is hoped the benefits to the environment, public health and the wider economy of this necessary project will outweigh the cost of the project.
