13 September 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal

BT has awarded electrical, mechanical and HVAC engineering services company Spie UK a contract to upgrade works on 23km of its networking tunnels.

Enhancements to the underground channels, which carry cabling forming the base of BT’s central communications infrastructure, will save BT about £1.5 million and remove 3,500 tonnes of CO2 from its carbon footprint.

Spie was commissioned to work on two projects: Environmental ventilation and humidity control (completed) and building management system & controls (due for completion in 2017). The two assignments, worth a combined £3.3 million, have seen Spie provide BT with cost planning and risk management consultancy alongside design and technical management. As part of the work, the building services team has been working alongside its central engineering and design department “to optimise service delivery”.

The building management system and controls portion of the contract distinctively requires Spie to design a bespoke control system to reduce energy, improve the life cycle of plant and technical equipment, and warn of flood potential.