United Utilities Honoured in British Construction Industry Awards

United Utilities' landmark sludge recycling centre at Davyhulme, Manchester, has been honoured at the British Construction Industry Awards.

The project team from United Utilities, MWH and Black & Veatch beat off competition from across the UK to be named winners of the Major Civil Engineering Project of the Year (for projects valued at over £50 million).

The judges praised the scheme and said it was "a really inspiring project for so many reasons. This was a clearly united team who constantly pushed the boundaries of innovation."

After visiting the site, the judges commented: "It was impossible to tell who was the client and who was the contractor, the engineer, the architect. The shared passion for excellence was striking."

John McNeill, General Manager of Capital Delivery at United Utilities, accepted the award. He said: "The water industry is such an exciting sector right now, and we're building real legacy projects to improve our communities.

"This project has helped us to meet our sustainability targets, it's reducing our carbon footprint and it was constructed with over 700,000 man-hours without a single reportable accident."

The BCI Awards are the most admired and coveted awards in the construction industry. With 18 targeted categories, the awards cover every aspect of construction from Building Design of the Year to Product Design Innovation Award.

Mark Hansford, Editor, New Civil Engineer, said: "The calibre of this year's winning projects leaves you in no doubt whatsoever that this is an industry that excels."

The Davyhulme plant takes a round-the-clock waste stream, Manchester's wastewater sludge, and converts it into a high quality soil conditioner for farmers while generating renewable electricity from the biogas produced during the process. The plant has already received industry recognition when it won the Institute of Chemical Engineer's Award for Innovation and Excellence in 2013.

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