Laing O鈥橰ourke, Balfour Beatty and Bouygues to help built new plant in Suffolk

Sizewell C has announced an agreement with three firms currently working on Hinkley Point C.

Laing O鈥橰ourke, Balfour Beatty and Bouygues Travaux Publics, who together form the Civil Works Alliance, signed a programme alliance agreement with Sizewell C.

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Source: Shutterstock

The alliance will employ between 3,000-4,000 workers over an eight-year programme to build the new nuclear plant in Suffolk.

Sizewell C was one of eight sites identified in 2009, but despite successive governments voicing their support for the scheme, progress has been slow.

The government recently committed more than 拢14.2bn to the scheme in the spending review and a final investment decision is expected later in the summer, which will confirm the private investors that will help fund the project.

According to the Financial Times, this will include a 15% stake for Centrica, the owner of British Gas.

The agreement signed by the alliance will deliver enabling works and earthworks, marine and tunnelling works, main civils works and ancillary works.

Sizewell C will be a near replica of Hinkley Point C, so the alliance should benefit from lessons learned on that project, which experienced major budget and schedule overruns.

Nigel Cann, joint managing director of Sizewell C, said: 鈥淭his agreement ensures that we have three companies with deep experience of building to the highest nuclear standards delivering the civils for our project.

>> Read more: Government commits 拢14.2bn to Sizewell C ahead of spending review

>> Read more: Why the government is looking to the Thames Tideway project for ways to fund 拢14.2bn Sizewell C 

鈥淗inkley 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.

鈥淲ith our CWA partners, we will continue that progress at Sizewell C so that we deliver the best value for consumers and build a project Britain can be proud of.鈥�

The alliance will operate a target outturn cost contract model.

If built, Sizewell C would come online in the 2030s, joining the new plant at Hinkley Point C.