United Utilities has shortlisted three applicants for the role of independent technical advisor on its GBP 1.75 billion (USD 2.2 billion) Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP) in a contract worth GBP 50 million (US$ 64 million).

The shortlisted applicants are FR JV and partners (Fluor and Ramboll), Jacobs, and Turner & Townsend Infrastructure. HARP will see work to replace sections of the Haweswater Pipeline, a 110 km pipeline that runs from the Lake District through Lancashire and into Greater Manchester. The pipeline, built between 1933 and 1955, provided water to 2.5 million people in Cumbria, Lancashire, and Greater Manchester for 60 years. The works will involve replacing sections of six tunnels that amount to roughly 50 km of pipeline. Additionally, new connections to existing multiline siphons between the tunnel sections and associated facilities will be installed. 

The water company for the North West is seeking to appoint a Competitively Appointed Provider (CAP) to design, build, finance, and maintain the replacement of the six tunnel sections (approximately 50km) of the Haweswater Aqueduct. The CAP is expected to be appointed in the first half of 2025.