Anglian Water has announced the four major construction and engineering companies who will form its new Strategic Pipeline Alliance after a competitive procurement process.

The water company will join forces with Costain, Farrans, Jacobs and Mott MacDonald Bentley as part of a contract worth over £350m to complete what it describes as one of the largest strategic water infrastructure projects the UK has ever seen.

The programme forms a key part of Anglian’s Water Resources Management Plan which looks 25 years ahead to manage and secure the water resources by safe-guarding against the potential future impacts of water scarcity, climate change and growth, while protecting the environment.

A vital element of the ambitious plan is to create up to 500km of interconnecting pipes and associated pumping equipment, as well as upgrading existing infrastructure to allow water transfer across Anglian Water’s region. Its single aim is to make the east resilient to the risks of drought by securing water supplies for future generations.

By installing new pipework to better join up the existing water network, the water company will be able to move water more freely around the region in stages, from areas of water surplus in north Lincolnshire down, to the south and east of the region, where it is less readily available.

James Crompton, strategic pipeline alliance director, said: “The challenges of population growth and a changing climate are felt nowhere more keenly than here in the east of England, which is one of the driest parts of the UK. Starting this project is a significant part of our planned investment in the region over the next five years, which will begin to tackle those challenges and secure customer supplies well into the future.

“The programme will make it possible to reduce the amount of water taken from the environment, as well as strengthening resilience by reducing the number of homes and businesses which rely on a single water source.

“It will be a complex and challenging major infrastructure development. It presents an exciting opportunity for these civil engineering, design and construction experts and we’re delighted to have four such prestigious partners on board.”

Anglian Water has already proven the durability and success of an alliancing way of working. In 2015, the company signed 15-year contracts with its existing partners but recognised the need for specialist engineering and construction for such a large-scale project. The tendering process to form the new strategic alliance began last year.

Crompton continued: “We’ve seen how successful and powerful a truly integrated and collaborative alliancing approach can be and now we’re building on it. Each of our new partners bring not only a wealth of experience but they also bring new mindsets, thinking and innovation for what is an incredibly exciting project, but also collectively, one of the largest investments in our water infrastructure we’ve made in recent years.”