United Utilities picks Costain for £175m framework

The water provider has chosen Costain to deliver management and delivery of its large-scale assets across the region in a deal worth an initial £175m over five years.

The deal with UU will start this month and run for an initial five-year period with a potential to extend for a further 10. It marks the first time UU has outsourced its maintenance activity as it looks to drive efficiencies across its infrastructure assets.

Under the deal, Costain will manage maintenance across 96 water treatment and 575 waste-water treatment sites across the North West. UU currently provides water to around 6m people in the region.

Alex Vaughan, chief executive of Costain, said: “By integrating our programme management, asset optimisation and technology capabilities, Costain will help United Utilities to support its business transformation.

“Our integrated services and use of digital technology will help to deliver a step change in business performance and operational efficiencies for United Utilities in support of their strategy and in line with customer expectations and regulatory requirements.”