Atkins has been appointed by the government’s Geospatial Commission to help create a digital map of underground pipes and cables throughout the UK.
The map will be known as the National Underground Asset Register and is being developed by Atkins alongside mapping agency Ordnance Survey and geospatial data management leaders 1Spatial.
The digital map will take three years to build, and will begin in London, Wales and north east England.
The initiative is part of the government’s build back better agenda and will speed up the delivery of housing and infrastructure projects.
It will also help to reduce the amount of mistakes made from accidental utility strikes, which reportedly costs the economy £2.4bn annually. This problem has recently been a problem in high-profile instances including the Lord’s Cricket Ground development’s discovery of a rotting Victorian sewer and Tideway’s near-miss on a couple of large Victorian gas mains.
Atkins digital director Guy Ledger said: “By harnessing technology to enable data sharing, we’re able to transform how we deliver projects and infrastructure by unlocking improvements in safety, certainty and efficiency.
“We now look forward to working with the Geospatial Commission and partners to develop the National Underground Asset Register – a truly exciting and transformative project for the infrastructure sector.”