A company formed by Fluor and a subsidiary of Babcock International is poised to take over management of 12 decommissioned nuclear sites in the UK, the companies announced Monday.
In a release, Fluor said the country's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority selected the Cavendish Fluor Partnership to take control of Magnox Ltd. and Research Sites Restoration Limited. The former entity is responsible for decommissioning 10 commercial Magnox plants, while the latter is cleaning up the country's nuclear research centers at Harwell and Winfrith. The government is expected to finalized the contract in September following a transition phase.
The Guardian and other outlets reported that the 14-year contract is valued at $11.7 billion and follows a two-year bidding process. EnergySolutions has managed the Magnox sites for the past 14 years. That company had bid for the new contract unsuccessfully with Bechtel. Other bidders included a consortium of Serco, Areva and CH2M Hill and a consortium composed of Amec, Atkins and Rolls-Royce. The Fluor-Babcock team asserts it can create savings of more than $1.6 billion compared to the previous contract.