Field Fisher Waterhouse advises the NDA on Sellafield decommissioning procurement
21 July 2008
Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP has advised the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (NDA) on the appointment of preferred
bidder, Nuclear Management
Partners Ltd (NMPL), a consortium of Washington International
Holdings Ltd., AMEC and AREVA NC. The contract for which
NMPL are the preferred bidder provides for an initial engagement of
five years, to maximum of 17 years duration, with renewal points at
five and ten years.
The process of decommissioning the Sellafield
nuclear site will take up to 125 years and, at the lowest
estimates, will cost £75bn. The appointment of a contractor to
provide the management of the operation for the first phase is one
of the highest, if not the highest value civil public procurements
in Europe. Nuclear Management Partners Ltd will be the first
private sector commercial company to be appointed to manage a civil
nuclear site engaged in fuel reprocessing operations.
Field Fisher Waterhouse advised the NDA on the
competitive dialogue process which involved the participation of
four bidders. Working with the NDA, the firm developed contracts
and fee structures that are highly complex and sophisticated in
order to accommodate a new corporate structure, the hazardous
nature of the task, the complex risk issues involved and certain
regulatory anomalies. The resulting contracts are
expected to set the standard for future large scale public
procurements.
This work involved around 30 partners and
fee-earners from across the firm, led by public procurement partner, David Gollancz. The
project reflects the firm’s expertise in high level public sector
work and means that Field Fisher Waterhouse is currently working on
two of the highest value and highest profile public sector
procurements in western Europe, the second being the National
Identity Scheme which will introduce ID cards.
David Gollancz, Field Fisher Waterhouse said:
“This project is complex, highly regulated and politically
sensitive. The initial stages of the 125-year operation are
potentially the most hazardous and cleaning up the site safely and
efficiently is of national importance: Sellafield is rated by the
Government as one of its top five fiscal risks. We have worked very
closely with the NDA over the past 14 months on a highly
collaborate competitive dialogue process to ensure that the
contract and fee structure are robust and that the chosen
contractor will do the best job possible.”
Nuclear Management Partners Ltd was advised by
Hammonds.
For further press information please
contact:
Louise Eckersley, PR Manager,
Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP on 020 7861 4120