Kier has been named preferred bidder for two new long-term contracts with Anglian Water.

Both contracts which are part of Anglian Water's AMP6 programme have a combined total value of up to £130m, start in 2015 and are expected to run for 15 years.

The company, formally May Gurney, announced today it has been chosen to deliver Anglian Water's AMP6 Integrated Metering and Developer Services (IMDS) contract, valued at up to £12m a year.

The contract is expected to be formally awarded in the summer, with the firm stating that the focus over the coming three months would be on initiative development, business planning and work allocation.

Together with Clancy Docwra, the EDP Top100 firm said the contract will cover the whole Anglian Water region for both metering and developer services, as opposed to the current east/west split that exists for the existing AMP5 Metering framework, which it currently delivers.

Kier has also been selected as one of three contractors to deliver Anglian Water's Integrated Operational Solutions (IOS) a five year contract worth about £70m, with an extension of a possible ten years, and will start in April 2015. The IOS contract works will include appraisal and feasibility studies, preliminary and detailed design, construction and installation of components. It will also cover asset refurbishment, demolition, dismantling and decommissioning, as well as maintenance of the corporate asset and cost data for both water and water recycling assets.

Haydn Mursell, Kier Group finance director, said: 'We look forward to working with Anglian Water to tackle the ever more challenging regulatory requirements they face. Through our partnership experience, we will deliver these services effectively and efficiently, working as one fully integrated organisation, and collaborating with them and the partner service providers to deliver the best possible service to customers.

'These contract awards demonstrate how our acquisition of May Gurney last year has enhanced Kier's capabilities and strengthened our offering to clients.'

Meanwhile in an interim management statement today Kier said its underlying trading performance remains on course.

Among the hightlights, it said the improving UK construction market had helped the firms secure more than £500m of new contracts.