Thames Water has announced that an Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) Contract Notice for work on the Thames Tideway Tunnel has been published.

The Thames Tideway Tunnel is a major new sewer that will help tackle the problem of overflows from the capital's Victorian sewers and will protect the River Thames from increasing pollution for at least the next 100 years.

With the Development Consent Application formally due to be considered by the Planning Inspectorate in September, construction on the project is due to start in 2015 and will involve 24 construction sites across London.

Work will be split geographically into three main works construction contracts worth a total of around £1.6bn – west (£300m - £500m), central (£600m - £950m) and east (£500m - £800m).

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Mike Gerrard, managing director of the Thames Tideway Tunnel, said: "We are building for 22nd Century London to create a cleaner, healthier River Thames. The Thames Tideway Tunnel is needed to tackle the millions of tonnes of raw sewage which discharge into the River Thames every year. The river needs cleaning up and it needs to be cleaned up now.

"It will be the biggest tunnelling project ever undertaken in the UK's water industry. We want contractors with the right expertise and experience, who will deliver the best value for money for our customers.

"We are following a rigorous tender process to ensure the successful tenderers are capable of delivering the project."

Alongside the environmental improvements to the River Thames, the tunnel will create more than 9,000 jobs. Already, around 500 people are working on the project.

The project is expected to be financed and delivered by an independent Infrastructure Provider (IP), with its own licence from Ofwat. Thames Water, Government and Ofwat are continuing to work together to finalise the financing arrangements for the project. Procurement of the new IP is expected to begin in 2014 and is anticipated to take between six to nine months.

(CD/JP)