Ofwat has given United Utilities the go-ahead to select a third-party provider to undertake a project worth up to ￡1 billion to design, build, finance and maintain six new underground sections of a nokm aqueduct between South Cumbria and Greater Manchester. The industry regulator granted UU consent at the end of last month to launch a formal procurement process for its Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP), under which the water company is proposing to engage a competitively appointed provider (CAP) to replace six ageing tunnel sections that account for around 50km of the aqueduct's overall length. The CAP will also be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the new tunnels for a period of around 25 years following commissioning. At the end of last year, Ofwat formally designated HARP as the first scheme in England and Wales to proceed under the DPC (direct procurement for customers) off-balance sheet funding initiative that it introduced for the sector at the start of the AMP7 period. Assuming UU selects a preferred CAP at the end of its procurement procedure - an outcome that is by no means guaranteed - the water company will still require one more final consent from the regulator before it can actually sign a contract. The process will now kick off with an invitation to interested parties to submit initial indicative offers, and from those responses UU will select a limited number of "preferred bidders" with which it will enter into detailed negotiations.
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