THE Collaboration Award at the ICE South West Civil Engineering Awards 2023 was won by a complex engineering project for Hinkley Point C.

The scheme involves positioning massive structures onto the Bristol Channel's seabed.

It has been developed by the Balfour Beatty team at Avonmouth Docks, which utilised some of the world's largest heavy-lifting vessels to lower six intake and outfall heads onto the seabed.

These heads, each weighing up to 5,000 tonnes, will connect to five miles of tunnels providing cooling water to the nuclear reactors at the station.

Bridgwater Mercury: The scheme was developed by the Balfour Beatty team at Avonmouth Docks

The judges expressed admiration for the coordination, teamwork and meticulous planning that was needed to ensure the operation occurred safely.

They described the precision in placing the heads on the seabed under challenging conditions as "nothing less than mind-boggling".

In total, ten project awards and two individual trophies were presented at the annual award ceremony that acknowledges the accomplishments of regional engineers and project teams.

ICE South West Regional Director, Miranda Housden, said: "The ICE South West Civil Engineering Awards 2023 showcased a strong field of entries, marking a competitive year that underlines the region's depth of expertise and achievement.

"These amazing projects are taking on some of our most significant regional challenges - and with the talent of our apprentices and graduates, the future for civil engineering in the South West looks very promising.

"Congratulations to all who participated this year."

Full details of the award winners can be found at www.ice.org.uk/sw/awards.