NDA confims that Nuclear Management Partners have lost the Sellafield Contract

The Government has announced the end of the Nuclear Management Partners contract to manage the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing site.

Ownership of Sellafield Ltd will revert to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The transition is expected to take 12 to 15 months.

NMP - made up of US engineering group URS, French energy firm Areva and Britain’s Amec -  was granted a five-year extension to its contract in 2013. The contract includes a termination clause.

A “strategic partner” is to be sought from the private sector to advise and assist the Sellafield Ltd executive team in the work necessary to take an overview of all site activities. This means the private sector becomes a supplier to Sellafield Ltd rather than a parent of it.

Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said:

“Sellafield is the biggest and most complex nuclear site in Europe, so it’s right that we keep the way it’s being managed under constant review. We have seen great examples of how this approach can work with Crossrail and the Olympics – and I’m confident we’ll see similar results at Sellafield.”

The Sellafield Ltd Board will continue to consist of existing non-executive directors and key members of the current executive team, but over time will now also see the introduction of NDA-appointed directors. Reporting to this Board will be the Sellafield Ltd executive team which will continue to have day-to-day management responsibilities for the site.

John Clarke, Chief Executive of the NDA, said:

“This decision is the result of careful consideration and review of various commercial approaches in use where the combination of public and private sector comes together to deliver complex programmes and taxpayer value.

“I believe we can build on progress to date and drive further improvements in performance and value for money by enhancing the capability of the Site Licensed Company (Sellafield Ltd) through a different approach.”

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