Atkins to manage Southern Water assets

London -- Atkins has gained a three-year contract, worth £10-15 million, to manage Southern Water’s asset base, which include; 370 wastewater treatment works, 94 water treatment Works, 2197 pumping stations, over 21,000km of sewer pipes and 13,400km of water mains. The contract builds on a 15-year relationship between the companies.

The design & engineering consultancy will support Southern Water’s strategy to develop an asset management function to enhance customer service, mitigate business risk and align the company’s investment strategies for a water pricing review for 2010 - 2015, said a 10 May Atkins statement. The contract, it noted, includes the transfer of a number staff from Southern Water into Atkins and the establishment of two new local offices in Winchester and Brighton.

“This is a strategic contract drawing on our expertise of asset management in a number of engineering sectors, combined with our global design capability,” commented Roger North, a director of Atkins.
Between 2005 and 2010 Southern Water is investing £1.8 billion to improve its assets and infrastructure. Niall Mills, Southern Water’s director of Assets, said: As a regulated business we have a duty to deliver improvements and efficiencies.”

Atkins claims to be Europe’s largest multidisciplinary consultancy, the largest engineering consultancy in the UK and the world’s third largest design firm. Its current projects include overseeing the development of the next generation armoured vehicles for the MoD; a £65-million resignalling contract in Basingstoke and the design of Durrat Al Bahrain, a massive resort on the south coast of Bahrain, comprising 13 man-made islands.