Costain wins £297m nuclear contract

Costain has won a £297m nuclear waste processing contract at Sellafield.

Work will involve a large amount of off-site modularised construction which will be shipped-in by sea and transported via the River Ehen and the Barrow to Carlisle rail lines.

The contract is for for full engineering, procurement, construction and inactive commissioning of the Evaporator D project - one of the largest nuclear projects in the UK.

The deal is an extension of an original purchase order awarded in September 2006 for Front End Engineering Design.

Costain has developed and defined the design of the facilities that will be used to expand Sellafield's ability to process nuclear waste material and ultimately reduce inventories at the site.

The housed Evaporator building will consist of 15 in-cell modules, over 22km of pipe work bound together by over 10,000 welds, 300 tons of specialist steel and 400 major plant items.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2014.

Andrew Wyllie, Chief Executive of Costain, said: "We are delighted to have been awarded this contract with Sellafield Ltd which, as one of the largest nuclear projects in the UK, underpins the suitability of Costain to support the Government and utilities engaged in the New Nuclear Build Programme."