Launch of the Lee Tunnel works

26 November 2010 - New contracts - United Kingdom

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Lee Tunnel project took place on 30 September 2010. This project is being undertaken on behalf of Thames Water by VINCI Construction Grands Projets and Soletanche Freyssinet subsidiary Bachy Soletanche Ltd (VINCI Construction), in a 50/50 joint venture with Morgan Sindall. It concerns the design-build construction, to the east of London, of a 7 km-long main drain (diameter: 7.2 m) to collect rainwater and wastewater.

Located at a depth of between 55 and 75 metres, this structure will enable the quantity of polluted water discharged yearly into the Thames to be halved. The project also calls for the creation of 4 very large shafts, as well as supplying and installing the equipment and automatic controls required to manage the effluent and raise it a distance of more than 80 metres.
Total value of the works: £417m (€481m).