Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction, services and investment group, has announced that it is partnering with AREVA, a world leader in nuclear power, to ensure effective delivery of a fleet of EPR nuclear reactors (EPRs) in the UK.

Balfour Beatty will work with AREVA to identify the skills and resources required to deliver a fleet of EPRs and to put an effective supply chain in place. It is estimated that the nuclear programme could sustain between 10-15,000 jobs over a 25-year period.

Site construction of the first EPR could start as early as 2013. The Energy White Paper in 2007 first set out the UK Government’s in-principle support for a programme of new nuclear power stations in the UK.


Ian Tyler, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, commented: "We are delighted to be working with AREVA. Balfour Beatty has a strong heritage in the nuclear sector and the breadth and depth of expertise to deliver large and complex multi-disciplinary engineering and construction projects. We look forward to working together to deliver the EPR programme over the long term."

Mike O'Brien, Minister at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, said: "This is good news. It represents a vote of confidence by AREVA in the UK new nuclear market and a vote of confidence in the UK supply chain. This is the welcome face of low carbon energy we'll see more and more over the coming decades, opening up enormous potential for UK plc at home and globally."

In a separate development, Balfour Beatty has also formed a joint venture with VINCI Construction to help deliver project management, construction and civil engineering infrastructure for the EPR programme in the UK. VINCI's UK-based construction and engineering companies include Taylor Woodrow and Norwest Holst. It will also rely on the expertise of VINCI Construction Grands Projets.

(CD/JM)