Contractors clamour for £150m nuclear waste facility

Contractors are clamouring to get involved in the construction of a £150m waste facility at Dounreay in a bid to demonstrate their suitability for the planned nuclear build programme.

The work will not start until March 2011, but firms are already queuing up to deliver one of the largest clean-up projects at the site to date.

More than 100 companies attended a suppliers' day earlier this year to hear about Dounreay Site Restoration's plans, which include the construction of a waste treatment plant that will convert liquid and solid radioactive waste to a stable waste form suitable for long-term disposal.

Site project manager Brad Smith said designs are underway and should be complete by March 2010.

"We will continue to engage everyone in the supply chain, but to make sure we only deal with contractors with the right capabilities we will be visiting sites to assess their competence," he said

Another suppliers' day involving a select group of contractors will be held in spring 2010.