The construction cost of the project has increased to £2.5-2.9bn from £1.75bn when the contract notice was first published in 2022.

The STRABAG Equitix Consortium beat-off competition from the two other shortlisted teams of HARP Community Connectors comprising of Acciona, Dragados and Iridium and More Water comprising of FCC Construcción, SNC-Lavalin, FCC Aqualia, Webuild and BeMo Tunnelling.

The original aqueduct, completed in the 1950s, supplies water from the Lake District to communities in Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

Six tunnel sections along the 110km aqueduct route will be replaced under one of the largest water infrastructure schemes undertaken in the North West.

The project is being delivered through a Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) model to ensure it provides best value for customers. It is the first time such a model has been used in the UK water sector.

The procurement process is now in its final stage of financial close, with contract award planned for the first half of 2025, subject to consent by water regulator Ofwat.

Neil Gillespie, Transformation and Strategic Programmes Director at United Utilities, said: “This is a significant milestone in our journey to replace the Haweswater Aqueduct tunnels so that we can continue to provide customers in the North West with a reliable supply of quality drinking water into the future.

“This is the culmination of a lot of hard work from a dedicated team, and we are really pleased to have now established our preferred bidder.”