Competition to manage Dounreay launched
22 September 2009
The search is on for a new organization to oversee decommissioning at the Dounreay site, where £155 million ($253 million) in clean-up work takes place each year. The UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) launched the competition to select a Parent Body Organization (PBO) for Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL), which will own the shares in the Dounreay Site Licence Company for the duration of the contract. DSRL manages and operates the Dounreay site on behalf of the NDA. The NDA said that the appointed PBO will "provide the vision for the optimal accomplishment of the site's mission." The average annual spend at the SLC over the past five years has been some £155 million ($253 million). The NDA said that the fee for the contract is related to the annual spend, risk and opportunities, and performance. Graeme Rankin, the competition project manager, welcomed the "much-awaited official start of the competition." He said, "We look forward to engaging with competitors over the coming months and are committed to securing the best possible PBO for the Dounreay site." Dounreay was the UK's centre for experimental fast breeder research and development from 1954 until 1994. The site is now being decommissioned under a program that is expected to cost an estimated £2.5 billion ($5 billion) and will involve the gradual dismantling and removal of plant and facilities on site over the next 20 years.