On 2 April, Babcock Dounreay Partnership (BDP) was formally awarded the contract to manage the decommissioning, demolition and cleanup of the Dounreay nuclear site, having officially taken ownership of Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DRSL).
The contract, awarded to BDP (a joint venture between Babcock, CH2M Hill and URS) by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), takes immediate effect following the successful share transfer on 1 April 2012, making BDP the new Parent Body Organisation for Dounreay.
As DSRL’s new owner, BDP will be taking the decommissioning programme at Dounreay to what is called its interim end state, including removal of Dounreay’s landmark dome and other buildings, both accelerating the programme to achieve interim end state between 2022 and 2025.
NDA chairman Stephen Henwood said: “Today is a significant milestone for the NDA. Not only have we successfully gained a world-class parent body to take ownership of DSRL which will continue to oversee the last and arguably the most difficult stages of decommissioning Dounreay, but we have also been able to reduce the decommissioning period by potentially up to 16 years, from 2038 to as early as 2022 representing savings to the UK economy well in excess of £1 billion.”
The contract start date and official handover follows a successful four month transition period since BDP’s selection as preferred bidder, to prepare the incoming team to take on its responsibilities in a staged manner, with minimal impact on the continuity of work taking place at Dounreay.
