Costain has been appointed as sole maintenance service provider by United Utilities under a framework contract for an initial period of five years, with an option to extend to ten years.

The deal will see Costain provide overall management and delivery of United Utilities’ larger-scale water and waste water asset maintenance activities across the entirety of its network, including 96 water treatment and 575 waste water treatment sites, serving over six million people in the north west of England.

The contract marks the first time United Utilities has outsourced its maintenance activity, as it seeks to drive material efficiency and operational improvements in line with customer expectations and regulatory requirements.

Contract mobilisation will begin immediately in preparation for the official start in June 2019. The framework is expected to be worth around £35m per year throughout the duration of the contract.

Alex Vaughan, CEO of Costain, said: “By integrating our programme management, asset optimisation and technology capabilities, Costain will help United Utilities to support its business transformation. Our integrated services and use of digital technology will help to deliver a step change in business performance and operational efficiencies for United Utilities in support of their strategy and in line with customer expectations and regulatory requirements.”

Costain continues to be involved in a wide range of tendering activity across the UK water sector in anticipation of AMP7 (2020-2025) for which companies have pledged to spend more than £50bn on improving services, a double-digit increase on the previous period.