A new joint venture company has taken over a £4.2 billion management and decommissioning contract at 12 strategically important UK nuclear sites.
The Cavendish Fluor Partnership (CFP) has been formally awarded the contract to manage the facilities – which include Hunterston A and Chapelcross in Scotland – and their respective site clean-up programmes.
The new operators yesterday said they expect to save the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which owns the 12 sites, more than £1.5 billion over the 14-year duration of its contract.
Ten of the sites had previously been operated by Magnox Ltd and the other two by Research Sites Restoration and both companies have now been subsumed into the CFP joint venture.
CFP is an alliance of Babcock International Group subsidiary Cavendish Nuclear – which already has an existing 50% interest in the partnership operating Dounreay in northern Scotland – and multinational engineering and construction firm Fluor Corp.
NDA chief executive John Clarke said CFP’s takeover was a significant moment for the industry.
He said: “By introducing a fundamentally different contract, based upon a clear understanding of the scope of work to be delivered across 12 sites over 14 years, we have been able to generate real competitive tension during the competition process. We are delighted that our approach looks set to deliver a reduction in decommissioning costs.”
The formal contract award follows the NDA’s announcement of CFP as the preferred bidder in March, and a subsequent five month transition period.
“We are looking forward to working closely with the NDA and the sites to deliver this extensive decommissioning programme, safely, on schedule and within budget,” CFP chairman Kevin Thomas said.
“By combining our breadth of experience and utilising both proven and innovative solutions, we will deliver significant savings to the UK taxpayer.”
CFP yesterday began the process of change by drafting in more than 30 senior executives from their parent organisations to introduce a new programme of work at the dozen sites.
“After an intensive transition period, we are delighted to be in contract to implement our delivery plan,” CFP managing director Kenny Douglas said.
“Cavendish Nuclear and Fluor have strong track records of delivering enhanced value to their customers at sites across the UK and in the United States, and we look forward to applying our experience and expertise to the 12 Magnox and RSRL sites.
“Crucially, we will be seeking to standardise the processes and approach taken and to maximise learning across all locations, integrating the approach and programmes across all the sites, while delivering locally.
“Every aspect of delivery will be looked at over the period of the contract to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent as effectively as possible.”
The 12 sites covered by the contract are Berkeley, Bradwell, Chapelcross, Dungeness, Hunterston A, Hinkley Point A, Oldbury, Sizewell A, Trawsfynydd and Wylfa and Harwell and Winfrith research facilities.