PORR enters UK . Joint venture of Skanska, PORR and A.Hak to realise Humber pipeline project

Vienna, 23 May 2016 – National Grid has awarded a joint venture comprised of Skanska UK, PORR Bau GmbH and A.Hak, the contract to design and build a replacement high pressure gas pipeline within a tunnel, underneath the River Humber from Paull to Goxhill, replacing the existing pipeline which lies on the riverbed. The joint venture will provide full design and construction of the 5km tunnel, inserting a single string of 42” steel pipe and connect into the above ground installations (AGIs) at Paull and Goxhill. The three year project is estimated to cost around GBP150 million (approx. EUR 186 million). The contract has been let, subject to planning consent for the replacement pipeline from the Planning Inspectorate, which is due in September 2016.
 
Karl-Heinz Strauss, CEO of PORR, said: “The tender is a huge vote of confidence – after all, the Humber Pipeline is an exciting large-scale project requiring extensive knowhow and technical expertise. The requisite competencies are perfectly bundled in our joint venture. Here we see decisive added value for our client, National Grid. The pipeline is our first project in Great Britain. Our cooperation involves strong local partners – a strategy which has paid off and also opens up opportunities on an attractive new market on our PORR map”. 
 
Phil Croft, National Grid’s senior project manager said, “This pipeline will be the longest gas pipeline in a tunnel, inserted in a single string in the world. To do this we need partners with experience and a proven track record. The joint venture of Skanska, PORR and A.Hak was able to demonstrate their ex-pertise and knowledge throughout the tender process, giving us the confidence that this was the right company to build this tunnel and pipeline in such an environmentally sensitive and commercially busy river.”
 
On behalf of the joint venture, Colin Nicol, Operations Director, Skanska said: “We are delighted to be awarded this contract. The joint venture was formed to bring together international expertise to deliver, in an innovative, sustainable and collaborative way, a tunnel that will protect the pipeline for the long-term, helping National Grid to provide a vital service to millions of people.”
 
The pipeline in detail: a 5.4km long connection between Paull and Goxhill
 
The River Humber pipeline is part of the national transmission system – connecting the import terminal at Easington, on the East Yorkshire coast, to the wider network and delivering gas to millions of customers throughout the UK.
 
Over time, the tidal patterns of the River Humber have eroded the river bed covering the existing pipeline, leading to parts of it becoming exposed.  An innovative short-term engineering solution to protect the pipeline by covering exposed areas was put in place in 2010.  Because of the importance of the pipeline, National Grid is now looking to construct a new pipeline in a tunnel underneath the River Humber from the above ground installations (AGIs) at Paull, east of Hull and south of the river at Goxhill, as a long-term replacement.
 
The pipeline will connect to the existing National Grid AGI sites at Paull and Goxhill and will be 3.63 miles (5.4km) long, of which 3.18 miles (5km) would be tunnelled.
 
It is anticipated that it would be up to 42" (1055mm) in diameter and that it would transport natural gas at a pressure of 70barg.
 
Key Facts
 
Length of pipeline: 5.4km / 3.36 miles
Diameter of pipeline: 42 inches (1,055 mm)
Length of pipeline tunnelled: 5km / 3.18 miles
Depth of tunnel: 35 metres
Width of tunnel: 3-4 metres
Length of construction: 35 months (approx.)
Length of time spent tunnelling: 12 months (approx.)
Gas pressure: 70 barg