Balfour Beatty joint venture appointed as sole contractor for 240m-plus nuclear contract

A much-needed bit of positive news for beleaguered Balfour Beatty yesterday came in the form of a £240m-plus contract award for its joint venture with AMEC and Jacobs to a framework contract to provide a new nuclear waste processing plant at Sellafield in Cumbria, UK.

The three way, equal, joint venture will be the sole contractor on the four year framework with Sellafield Limited which is worth between £240 million and £336 million to construct the  new ‘Box Encapsulation Plant’ which will receive, segregate and encapsulate hazardous waste already stored on the Sellafield site.

The processing plant is part of Sellafield’s wider programme to prepare hazardous nuclear waste for storage and disposal.  It will also process waste recovered from other facilities on the Sellafield site once they are decommissioned.

The joint venture will be responsible for the complete life cycle of the scheme from design, engineering, procurement, installation and construction management through to commissioning and handover.

Balfour Beatty’s Major Projects business will provide a broad range of expertise including civil engineering, construction and mechanical and electrical capabilities, and supply chain management. 

Building Information Modelling (BIM) will support accelerated delivery by integrating design and construction information within the construction programme to optimise planning and co-ordination.

Work is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2014. Balfour affirmed the joint venture’s commitment to engaging local small and medium sized businesses in the supply chain and employing local apprentices and trainees.

Balfour Beatty UK construction Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Pollard said: “Balfour Beatty has a strong heritage in the nuclear sector including a 35 year presence at Sellafield. This is an important project to reduce hazardous waste across the Sellafield site and Balfour Beatty and our partners will draw upon and share our extensive experience of safely delivering major nuclear facilities. This latest award underscores Balfour Beatty’s success and capability in the UK power sector. ”