Gas pipes

AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, Wales & West Utilities (WWU) and Morrison Utility Services today signed a £300m contract to carry out a major programme of gas mains replacement across Wales and the south west of England for WWU.

The five-year contract, which includes an option for an extension of a further five years, covers the replacement of 420 kilometres per year of ageing gas pipes.

The alliance will begin work in April this year and will take responsibility for all aspects of the mains renewal including concept, feasibility, design, programme management and implementation.

AMEC, which has a £130m share in the project, will provide commercial, programme and project management, health, safety and environmental management, design support services and on-site supervision and engineering.

'We have taken the strategic decision to move away from the traditional client/service provider arrangements and have instead adopted this new alliance approach instead,' said Graham Edwards, chief executive of WWU, a gas distribution business with around 34,000km of gas distribution pipelines located in Wales and the south west of England.