A joint venture agreement between Areva and Urenco that will see Areva's planned enrichment plant in Pierrelatte equipped with Urenco centrifuge systems is now expected to be delayed until at least February following intervention from the Dutch parliament, Platts reports.
Areva expects the new centrifuge plant, Georges Besse II, to replace it gaseous diffusion predecessor by 2009.
The Dutch parliament will debate the deal following requests from some members of the lower house to examine issues involved in amending an existing treaty that created the Urenco enrichment consortium of Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. Extending the treaty to include France would lift bars on Areva having access to individual components or design information for the machine.
