The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

08 December 2008

Following the successful conclusion of the competitions to select and appoint new Parent Body Organisations (PBOs) for the Sellafield Site Licence Company and the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) near Drigg in Cumbria, the NDA is today announcing the PBO competition strategy for the remainder of the civil nuclear estate under its ownership.

Over the next four years the NDA intends to run a further two PBO competitions to complete the process of introducing new delivery partners to assist the NDA in its clean-up mission.

The first of these will see the selection of a PBO for Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL). DSRL is currently owned by UKAEA and manages and operates the Dounreay site near Thurso in Scotland.

The second competition will select a single PBO for three Site Licence Companies:

• Magnox North Limited;
• Magnox South Limited; and
• Research Sites Restoration Limited (RSRL).

NDA Chairman Stephen Henwood said:

“We are on track to complete our first round of competitions by 2012, in line with our strategy approved in 2006. The decision to proceed with Dounreay next supports our policy of dealing with the highest hazards first.”

It is expected that the competition to select a PBO for DSRL will be launched in the late summer of 2009. This is in order to provide sufficient time for market engagement and to embed the lessons learned from the Sellafield and LLWR competitions already completed.

Contract award for DSRL is expected to be achieved by the end of 2010. A further announcement from the NDA on the detailed competition programme will follow in the first quarter of 2009.

The competition to select a single PBO for Magnox North, Magnox South and Research Sites Restoration Ltd will follow and is expected to commence in 2011 and be complete by the end of 2012.