The UK’s Sizewell C NPP has signed the Programme Alliance Agreement with Balfour Beatty, Laing O’Rourke and Bouygues Travaux Publics to deliver the main civil works. Together, the three companies form the Sizewell C Civil Works Alliance (CWA), will be responsible for delivering a broad scope of works, including the enabling works, marine and tunnelling operations, main civil works, and associated ancillary works. The three companies are all currently working at the Hinkley Point C NPP under construction in the UK.
Preliminary construction work at Sizewell C began in January 2024. The project is expected to employ 7,900 people on site during peak construction and will support tens of thousands of jobs in the UK supply chain. In June, the UK Government said Sizewell C would be part of a ‘golden age’ of new nuclear and confirmed £14.2bn ($19.7bn) of investment in the project over the next five years. A Final Investment Decision, which will announce the private investors helping to fund the project, is expected later in the summer.
“This agreement ensures that our civils programme will be delivered by three companies with deep experience of building to the highest nuclear standards,” said Nigel Cann, Sizewell C Joint Managing Director. “Hinkley Point C has done the heroic work to restart our industry and is seeing big improvements between the construction of reactor unit 1 and unit 2. With our CWA partners, we will use replication and innovation to build on that progress and deliver Sizewell C more efficiently and with improved productivity.”
The CWA brings the companies together with Sizewell C into a single delivery organisation which will be responsible for extensive areas of the project, including:
- Enabling works and earthworks
- Marine and Tunnelling Works
- Main Civils Works (Nuclear Island, Conventional Island, Heat Sink and Balance of Plant)
- Ancillary Works and Permanent Roads and Networks
The CWA is organised so that Sizewell C is fully embedded in the Alliance as ‘Client Participant’. It will operate a Target Outturn Cost (TOC) contract model to keep control of schedule and costs. It will also help to foster transparency, collaboration and efficiency.
Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Group CEO said Sizewell C represents a critical investment in UK’s energy security and net zero future. “As a trusted delivery partner with a strong track record in complex nuclear infrastructure, we are proud to be bringing background knowledge and experience from Hinkley Point C to this critical national infrastructure project alongside our alliance partners.”
Jean-Philippe Trin, Deputy CEO at Bouygues Construction, said: “Sizewell C illustrates Bouygues Construction’s commitment to supporting the development of low-carbon energy solutions, building on the extensive experience the company has gained through its involvement in major nuclear projects.”
Laing O’Rourke Group CEO Cathal O’Rourke said: “The experience we have gained at Hinkley will power our delivery of Sizewell C. Working with our partners, we will deliver the project securely with a laser focus on safety, quality and productivity.
