£300m revolution on the waterways

BRITISH Waterways will unveil a £300 million programme this week to build and refurbish canals - by far the biggest investment pledged for such restoration.

The spending plans, believed to focus on nine projects, are on top of the £200 million investment that British Waterways (BW) will complete this year on its 2,000-mile network.

Inland waterways are being refurbished faster than they were being built in the days of 'canal mania' more than 200 years ago. The ambitious programme follows a landmark deal for BW, which has become the first Government corporation to set up an overseas subsidiary. It has started a joint venture in Malaysia to compete for some of the £100 million that the Kuala Lumpur government intends to invest in the country's waterways.

BW has been negotiating the partnership with Malaysian group Anggun Perkasa for the past year and has secured the deal on the strength of work it has just completed on the Calcutta canal system, which involved improving water quality and introducing high-speed water buses.

Derek Cochrane, BW's regional director, said: 'The Malaka River in Malaysia is much like the River Weaver in Cheshire - only with sunshine and iguanas. The lessons we've learned in Britain can be used to deliver benefits in Malaysia.'

BW chief executive Dr Dave Fletcher, who has a range of programmesdesigned to increase revenues for the waterway system, said he hoped the Malaysian venture would mark the start of a dramatic overseas expansion. He recently appointed a private sector partner to develop land and property alongside the domestic canal system and will soon name the company with which BW plans to develop a huge grid, able to move water almost anywhere around the country.

Though BW will not comment on which waterways are likely to benefit from the investment programme, it is understood that the Cotswold canals are on the list with proposals to reconnect the Severn to the Thames.

The organisation is working with the Waterways Trust on the developmentprojects, which it believes will attract more than five million extra visitors as well as creating thousands of jobs and environmental benefits.

Already the first £200 million phase of improvements, which BW will complete by the end of the year, will create 13,000 permanent jobs. Key projects include the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland, the world's first rotating boat lift, and the Millennium Ribble Link, the first canal to be built for a century.

BW claims that its success in overcoming hurdles - such as the need to recondition canals where routes have been covered by motorways and even towns - means it is more likely to defeat sceptics and attract investment for its latest plans.