Costain has secured a ten-year programme management consultancy contract for Cadent’s East of England gas distribution network upgrade. The contract is worth more than £150m and delivery will start from 1 April 2021. Cadent is the UK’s largest gas distribution network managing more than 80,000 miles of pipes and transporting gas to 11 million customers. Its East of England network is the largest of Cadent’s four gas networks spanning East Anglia and East Midlands and from North London to Sheffield.

Central to Costain’s role will be the strategic planning and programme management of Cadent’s capital investment programme, with a focus on delivering improved regulatory performance and futureproofing the network for the benefit of Cadent’s customers. Costain is bringing together its expertise in asset optimisation, digital systems and complex delivery as a leading consultancy offering in order to achieve Cadent’s core objectives including:

• Enhancing a resilient network where safety remains the top priority
• Ensuring a positive experience for all customers, stakeholders and communities, from minimising disruption to supporting vulnerable customers
• Delivering a programme to enhanced productivity targets
• Improving the environment and tackling climate change
• Building trust in communities through transparency and active engagement to leave a positive, lasting legacy

Costain is the construction management organisation with responsibility for management of the capital replacement and upgrade programme to be undertaken by Cadent’s supply chain and direct workforce. The contract will build on the partnership Costain already has with Cadent as one of its partners overseeing the HS2 gas main diversions and as a strategic partner in the transition to the decarbonisation of energy networks including the hydrogen economy through the North West Hydrogen Alliance, and the OptiNet project to research gas compression technology.

Costain CEO Alex Vaughan commented: “We are delighted to be working with Cadent as their programme manager over the next ten years leading the delivery of an effective and efficient investment programme and one which crucially puts customers, stakeholders and the environment front and centre. This is further demonstration that bringing together our expertise in asset optimisation, digital performance optimisation and programme delivery from across our business ensures that we can best deliver our client’s business objectives.”