Sydney Water partnership to transform water network

Sydney Water is transforming its supply chain and finalising a new delivery model for all water and wastewater infrastructure across Sydney, the Blue Mountains and Illawarra. More than five million customers are set to benefit from the Partnering for Success (P4S) initiative.

From 1 July, Sydney Water begins a 10-year partnership with three regional delivery consortia — in the north, south and west of Greater Sydney — to deliver end-to-end design, construction, maintenance and facilities management services.

Sydney Water Managing Director Roch Cheroux announced that over the next 10 years Sydney Water will invest at least $4 billion in infrastructure supporting more than 400 jobs, which are expected to grow to 1200 over the coming years.

“This is a great example of how Sydney Water is working with the private sector to bring world’s best practice in service delivery to our customers and build a resilient and futureproofed water network,” he said.

“Each region will now have a dedicated and fully integrated team, enabling us to build stronger relationships with residents, businesses, councils and local infrastructure providers, to get the best results for our customers, community and the environment.

“The new model will continue to support the wider supply chain and drive competition for small businesses as they will be able to bid for a significant stake in projects through shared purchasing.

“These long-term arrangements have enabled the regional teams to build a pathway of skilled resources to support the needs of a growing city, with the cultural and gender diversity to build a strong integrated workforce. From apprenticeship programs through to engagement with universities, the future skills and resources will be an ongoing legacy of the program.

“The regional-based model will help deliver further efficiencies, improve network resilience, and deliver the services we know our customers need and want.”

The three delivery consortia — Confluence Water, Delivering for Customers and the West Region Delivery Team — will commence under the new partnership model on 1 July. 

Reflecting the sentiments of the three consortia, Mal Shepherd from the south region joint venture said, “All the consortia teams are excited to be working in partnership with Sydney Water on the P4S framework over the next 10 years. 

“P4S has established a new era in the delivery of capital and maintenance services in an integrated and end-to-end operating environment across Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra.

“It really is bringing the very best innovations and expertise from across both the public and private sectors to one of the most important and essential services for our community.”

Image caption: Geoff Watson and Phil Jones at Malabar Wastewater Treatment Plant. Image courtesy of Sydney Water.