The UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) announced on 29 September that it had given notice of termination to Cavendish Fluor Partnership (CFP) for its management and decommissioning of UK’s 12 Magnox nuclear power reactors and research sites. The notice is effective from 1 September and ends CFP’s contract on 31 August 2019, as expected.
CFP is a joint venture between British firm Cavendish Nuclear, a subsidiary of Babcock International and US company Fluor Inc. It was awarded the 13.5-year contract in 2014. The contract was divided into two phases, with the first phase lasting 6.5 years and valued at more than $3.6bn, according to Fluor’s website. However, in March, the UK government said there was a “mismatch” between the work specified in the contract and the work that needed to be done.
Babcock International said the decision to end the contract in 2019 was taken despite the “high standard” of CFP’s performance.
An NDA statement said: “NDA and CFP have reached agreement on the work to be performed on the sites during the contract’s remaining two years, as well as the arrangements and agreed state in which CFP will leave the sites at the end of the contract.” It added that NDA “continues to believe that this is the best course of action for the taxpayer, removing the legal risk and ensuring the continued safe, secure operations of the sites”.
