The UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Urenco has signed a set of non-binding commercial principles to support a potential transfer of the NDA-owned Capenhurst site to URENCO. The site was home to an uranium enrichment plant that ceased operations in 1982.
Formal discussions will now commence with an aim of achieving final agreement by mid-2011. The proposal would transfer the NDA-owned land and operations to URENCO under a long lease and services contract. This is anticipated to reduce NDA’s net liabilities for managing and clearing the site, provide continued employment opportunities for the site workforce and pave the way for URENCO to invest in new facilities as the nuclear renaissance begins to take shape.
The NDA said that there are still a number of detailed issues to close out from a commercial perspective and to the satisfaction of our many stakeholders. If negotiations are successful, implementation of new arrangements will commence in 2012, subject to licensing and other approvals.
Work has already been undertaken to establish a set of common goals and principles, to ensure that the interests of all parties are well managed, including employees from both organisations.
There is a precedent for the deal. In 2009, the NDA announced plans to sell its Springfields site, a fuel fabrication site with current and shut down operations, to Westinghouse.
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