United Kingdom Royal visit for Lee Tunnel project

18 February 2015 - Events - United Kingdom

150 years after the London sewage system was brought into service, on 18 February 2015 Prince Charles visited the Lee Tunnel worksite in London. Having accessed the site via shaft F at Abbey Mills, the prince was presented to the numerous engineers and apprentices who have worked on the project and then, in the course of a short ceremony, met François Pogu and Pierre Paré, respectively project director and head of administration and finance of VINCI Construction Grands Projets in the UK. Under construction since 2010, the Lee Tunnel will be an important part of the British capital’s infrastructure. Being built on behalf of Thames Water by the MVB consortium (Morgan Sindall/VINCI Construction Grands Projets/Bachy Soletanche), it connects the London sewer network with Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. Its main structure is a 7 km-long tunnel with an internal diameter of 7 m, which will be able to store rainwater and the city’s wastewater prior to treatment and then discharge into the Thames. This will lead to a 40% reduction in the amount of rainwater and wastewater discharged, untreated, into the environment. The system will be operational as of 2016.