The move is an important step in decommissioning what was once the country’s largest generator of electricity.
The seven-year contract, estimated by INPP to be worth €5.5 million and to be implemented under International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) Yellow Book Conditions, will be administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and funded by European Commission grants.
Amentum will provide consultancy services to support the INPP’s Project Management Unit (PMU) and carry out the duties of FIDIC Engineer for the dismantling contract.
“We will deploy our extensive nuclear decommissioning and waste management experience from the UK, France, Czechia and Slovakia to this ground-breaking project,” said Andy White, who leads Amentum Energy & Environment International.
Amentum will help INPP to manage the removal of the Steam Drum Separators – large drums installed over the graphite core to divert steam to the turbines. The PMU will oversee the design and safety justification for dismantling and fragmentation of the drums and associated equipment, which are located in the plant’s radiologically contaminated primary circuit. The Amentum team will also be available to support further stages of decommissioning at INPP.
“The FIDIC service provider, Amentum, is a significant contributor to the dismantling of the steam drum separators. Their large international experience both as a FIDIC engineer and while working in various similar nuclear power projects will be a contributory factor to the success of the project’s joint implementation,” said Linas Baužys, director general of INPP.
INPP’s two RBMK-1500 reactors are said to have generated up to 70% of Lithuania’s electricity before the plant was shut down in 2009. Amentum’s heritage firms began working there more than 20 years ago, helping to deliver a New Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility and other facilities required for decommissioning.