Sellafield decommissioning partnerships announced 

Sellafield Ltd is the organisation responsible for the safe operation and clean-up of the Sellafield site in Cumbria, UK, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The site - which houses over 1000 buildings - is the largest nuclear complex in Western Europe. Sellafield's nuclear facilities include those connected with the Magnox reprocessing program, the Sellafield mixed-oxide fuel plant, the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant, and nuclear waste treatment plants. It is also home to redundant facilities from defence work in the 1950s, which included making plutonium for nuclear weapons.

"Within the next year we will complete our reprocessing mission, and our focus will be entirely on high hazard and risk reduction," Sellafield Ltd said. "The decommissioning programme will run for over 100 years, so access to all skills, innovation and supply chain is crucial to ensure this is done safely and securely."

"The Programme and Project Partners (PPP) model is set to revolutionise project delivery at Sellafield, through newly established long-term partnerships." Sellafield Ltd said. "The new approach will support the transformation of the company from a nuclear operator into a world leader in environmental remediation." The new approach, the company added, will support faster, more effective project delivery, stability in design and construction supply chains, greater workforce flexibility, and local economic benefit.

The new partnership is made up of four 'lots'. Kellogg Brown and Root Ltd (KBR) has been awarded a contract to act as Integration partner. Wood has been contracted as Design and Engineering partner, while Morgan Sindall Infrastructure will be Civils Construction. Doosan Babcock Ltd has been contracted as Process Construction Management partner. According to Wood, the contracts are be worth up to a combined USD6 billion across the Sellafield site over the 20-year period.

"The award of the PPP contracts marks the start of a new, and very different, journey for Sellafield Ltd and our supply chain partners," said Paul Foster, CEO of Sellafield Ltd. "Our number one priority is making Sellafield safer, sooner, and a key part of this is establishing closer relationships with other expert organisations. Working side by side with our four long-term partners, as one team, will help transform the way we deliver projects safely, quickly, and cost effectively."

Stuart Bradie, president and CEO of KBR said: "As a pioneer of collaborative working and forging strong alliances, KBR is delighted to have been selected to partner with Sellafield on this enduring project, which will place us at the heart of the customer's delivery team."

"We already have a deep, shared history with Sellafield and this new appointment provides a platform for us to assist with safe and secure operation and clean-up over the next two decades," said Bob MacDonald, CEO of Wood's Specialist Technical Solutions business. Wood said its contract with Sellafield Ltd was worth up to GBP770 million (USD1 billion).

Simon Smith, managing director of Morgan Sindall Infrastructure said its place on the Programme and Project Partnership "enables us to build on the support we are currently providing to Sellafield Ltd through the Infrastructure Strategic Alliance and continue our investment in the local community". Morgan Sindall's contract is valued at up to a GBP1.6 billion.

Andy Colquhoun, CEO of Doosan Babcock, said: "We have been part of the community in the Sellafield and West Cumbria area for over 60 years and look forward to expanding and developing our relationships in the community over the next 20 years and beyond."