Galliford Try employed to work on Southern Water’s upgrades

Galliford Try has gained another contract to deliver infrastructure improvements on behalf of a British water company.

The construction firm said it would work on the ‘design and build’ aspects, and as a mechanical and electrical contractor, for Wessex Water’s capital delivery framework, a planned £3.7billion programme of upgrades across South West England.

Between 2025 and 2030, Wessex Water intends to spend £445million on reducing storm overflows and more than £1.1billion on boosting water quality by removing 1,550 tonnes of nutrients from waterways.

This forms part of the wider AMP8 scheme, an agreement between regulatory body Ofwat and water firms setting out how the latter manages their assets, provides services to customers and invests in infrastructure.

Galliford expects to bring in at least £400million from working on Wessex Water’s asset management plan.

Consultancy Aecom and civil engineering businesses Kier Group, Morgan Sindall, and Mott MacDonald Bentley are among the other names working on the project.

Bill Hocking, chief executive of Galliford Try, said: ‘We are delighted to be working with our partners at Wessex Water to assist them in delivering their plans for AMP8.

‘The significant increase in activity anticipated in the water sector is a key part of our sustainable growth strategy, and we look forward to delivering for Wessex Water’s customers and stakeholders.’

Galliford’s latest contract win comes about a month after Southern Water appointed the company to work on its planned £3.1billion infrastructure upgrades.

The London-based business said the deal with Southern Water could be worth more than £500million over seven years.

Southern Water, whose majority owner is Australian investment bank Macquarie Group, provides services to 4.7 million customers across Kent, Hampshire, Sussex, and the Isle of Wight.

Britain’s water industry has faced considerable criticism from politicians and environmental campaigners in recent years due to the high volume of sewage spills affecting Britain’s waterways.

Sewage spills into England’s rivers and seas by water firms more than doubled from 1.75 million hours in 2022 to 3.6 million hours last year, according to the Environment Agency,

Water UK, the trade association for the country’s water sector, called the increase ‘unacceptable’ but blamed it on higher rainfall, a major cause of storm overflows.

Galliford Try shares were 2.8 per cent higher at 299p on early Monday afternoon, taking their gains since the year started to around 34 per cent.