Skanska has signed a contract with Sweden’s radioactive waste management company Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB (SKB) for the construction of new rock caverns for the short-lived radioactive waste (SFR) final repository in Forsmark. The contract is worth about SEK1bn ($100m) and will be included in the order bookings for Sweden in the third quarter of 2026.
Skanska AB is a leading construction and project development company headquartered in Stockholm. The firm was founded in 1887 and has grown to operate across select markets in the Nordics, Europe, and the United States.
The SFR repository is situated 60 metres below the bottom of the Baltic Sea and began operations in 1988. The facility comprises four 160-metre-long rock vaults and a chamber in the bedrock with a 50-metre-high concrete silo for the most radioactive waste. Two parallel kilometre-long access tunnels link the facility to the surface. Most of the short-lived waste deposited in the SFR comes from Swedish NPPs, but radioactive waste from hospitals, veterinary medicine, research and industry is also deposited there.
Once extended, the repository will have six new rock vaults, 240-275 metres long. The intention is to construct the extension at a depth of 120-140 metres, level with the lowest part of the current SFR repository. The agreement covers rock works, civil works, earthworks and water and sanitation works, and tunnel lining.
This newly signed production phase (Phase 2) builds upon the initial design phase agreement between the two companies signed in August 2023. The production phase is divided into several stages and separate contracts for each stage are signed successively. Rock construction work began in December 2024. Blasting work 45 metres below ground, which began in January 2025, marked the start of the expansion of the existing SFR repository.
The expansion is being carried out to create space for low- and intermediate-level operational and decommissioning waste from the Swedish NPPs, many of which have been closed and will be dismantled. The current SFR holds about 63,000 cubic metres of operational waste and the expansion will add approximately 117,000 cubic metres of storage space.
Construction of the new rock caverns is planned to start in the third quarter of 2026. The contract is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2028, and the complete facility is expected to be ready for test operation in 2030–2031.
