Sellafield infrastructure contract awarded
21 December 2012
Morgan Sindall Arup has been awarded a contract worth a potential £1.1 billion ($1.8 billion) to provide a range of infrastructure services to the Sellafield site.
In October, Sellafield Ltd announced a joint venture between construction and engineering companies Morgan Sindall and Arup as its preferred bidder for the Infrastructure Strategic Alliance (ISA) contract.
Sellafield Ltd said that preparations for contract award had been concluded and that a contract, which will run for an initial five year period but could be extended for a further ten years, was signed on 20 December.
Under the ISA contract, Morgan Sindall Arup will provide Sellafield with on-site provision and distribution of steam, electricity, water supply and compressed air, bulk chemical storage and distribution, civil infrastructure, the site's drainage networks and other facilities including roads, bridges, car parks and general buildings (canteens, laundry, etc).
The contract will see the Morgan Sindall Arup deliver a program management and project delivery service for all infrastructure assets at the site. The contract is primarily aimed at the supply of a range of utility assets, as well as some non-utility assets such as analytical services facilities, transport systems, flask maintenance plant and emergency management systems.
The latest agreement follows the Design Service Alliance announced in February, which saw two joint ventures secure a contract worth up to £1.5 billion ($2.3 billion) over 15 years to supply design support services for decommissioning activities at the site. The contracts are part of a new acquisition strategy introduced by Sellafield Ltd's parent body, Nuclear Management Partners (NMP), which is anticipated to see long-term contracts worth a total of £9 billion ($14.2 billion) awarded over two years.
George Beveridge, NMP's deputy managing director for Sellafield Ltd, commented: "We are very pleased to have reached this stage. Collaborative alliances such as the ISA represent a new way of operating for Sellafield Ltd but they represent industry best practice and we now look forward to realising the benefits that this new approach will bring to the site."
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News