Under the transaction, AMEC will initially pay $15m to BCI Engineers, and will pay another $5m over the next two years, depending on performance, sharecast.com reported.

AMEC Earth & Environmental business president Hisham Mahmoud said that the acquisition is consistent with AMEC’s Vision 2015 growth strategy in the water and mining sectors, and expansion in the Southeast US.

"BCI’s talented professionals, locations, services and excellent client relationships make the company a good fit for us," Mahmoud said.