A Jacobs and VolkerStevin joint venture, C2V, has been appointed by United Utilities, one of the U.K.’s largest listed water companies, as Construction Delivery Partner (CDP) to support their major capital investment programme. It will be the most ambitious and challenging programme United Utilities has ever delivered.
C2V will deliver project management, design, build and commissioning solutions for complex capital projects covering water and wastewater treatment, pumping stations, reservoirs, bioresources and energy.
All organizations on the specialist framework will form an integrated delivery organization with United Utilities to deliver its planned circa £3 billion ($3.8 billion) capital programme from 2025 to 2030, with an option to extend for an additional five years, from 2030 to 2035.
“The water sector is facing unprecedented environmental challenges. This framework positions United Utilities to deliver its largest ever programme to advance environmental performance and critical water services in North West England,” said Jacobs Senior Vice President Kate Kenny. “With our 20+ years’ experience working in the region, we can further contribute vital water and wastewater infrastructure solutions that deliver stronger, greener and healthier customer and environmental benefits.”
VolkerStevin Managing Director John Cox said: “We’re looking forward to collaborating with United Utilities, enterprise partners and the supply chain ecosystem to deliver the region’s biggest ever environmental programme. The enterprise model presents a unique opportunity for our businesses to collaborate, transform the way in which we work together and deliver more social and environmental value to the North West region than ever before. We are excited to take the next step in our journey with United Utilities to build a stronger, greener and healthier North West England for everyone.”
United Utilities Capital Delivery Director Jane Simpson said: “We’re really excited that we have secured some strong delivery partners to ensure we can deliver on our ambitious plans to transform infrastructure and services in the North West.
“It will be our most ambitious programme yet and by putting this partnership in place with some of the best design and construction companies in the country, it allows us to get to work quickly and deliver the transformation that we know our customers want to see.”
The Water Services Regulation Authority for England and Wales – Ofwat – will review United Utilities’ proposals and give its draft response, with final plans agreed by December 2024. United Utilities provides water and wastewater services to around seven million people, supplying three million households and 200,000 business premises.
Jacobs and VolkerStevin have supported United Utilities as C2V for the past 10 years – delivering both water and wastewater projects providing safe, secure and resilient water resources and improving river water quality across North West England.
Jacobs is also part of United Utilities’ new Strategic Solutions Team supporting programme optimization for their major capital works. Jacobs has supported United Utilities’ current engineering services framework for the past 10 years, providing strategic studies and business planning through to asset optimization, project and programme management—working together to ensure the resilience of critical assets such as the Haweswater Aqueduct. United Utilities implemented a Dynamic Network Management approach, powered by Jacobs’ Aqua DNA—a Digital OneWater solution that collects live data and enhances wastewater network performance using smart sensors and AI-driven predictive analytics—to proactively address challenges and prevent issues. Jacobs has supported United Utilities with successful regulatory submissions to Ofwat, while also being one of their lead partners in successfully securing strategic funding from Ofwat’s Innovation Fund.
