M&E contractors team up at Hinkley Point C

Hinkley Point’s MEH Joint Venture is comprised of Altrad, Cavendish Nuclear, Doosan Babcock and Balfour Beatty Bailey, the last of which is itself a joint venture of Balfour Beatty and NG Bailey.

The collaboration will integrate and coordinate the delivery of all main mechanical, electrical, HVAC, cabling and associated support services on the project.

The contractors will work as a single entity to deliver the complex installation of cabling and pipework in the power station’s 2,500 rooms. Hinkley Point C is owned partly by French state controlled EDF and partly by China's state-owned nuclear firm CGN.

It appears to be the Chinese that have particularly promoted the joined up approach.

CGN UK chief executive Zheng Dongshan said: “We believe strongly that it will deliver huge benefits to the delivery of the Hinkley Point C project, and to the UK nuclear industry as a whole.  We are deeply committed to this project and to new nuclear more generally in this country, and as part of that commitment we will continue to share the learning of CGN and CNPEC [China Nuclear Power Engineering Company] from the Taishan project and our wider experience as we develop industrial partnerships for the long term in the UK.”

On Hinkley Point C, a central project management office will manage critical project interfaces, the scheduling and sequencing of the MEH activities on site and work to refine and coordinate the required systems, processes and procedures.

The MEH Joint Venture will also look at ways to promote new pipework manufacturing in the UK.

Richard Bowman from Cavendish Nuclear is interim managing director of MEH Joint Venture. He said: “Today marks an exciting milestone in our industry – forming the MEH Joint Venture and bringing together all tier one MEH and support services contractors to work in partnership with the Hinkley Point C project. It represents the start of a new way of working.

“Combined, the MEH Joint Venture operates over 13 nuclear licensed sites in the UK with 20,000 directly employed nuclear experts and over 65 years of experience. Uniting our expertise brings together a host of knowledge and experience in delivering safe nuclear design, construction, modification, maintenance and decommissioning.”

Stuart Crooks, managing director of Hinkley Point C said, “This new approach is a major example of innovation at Hinkley Point C which puts the interests of the whole project above those of any individual contractor. That co-ordination is good for contractors, pooling skills and expertise for everyone’s benefit. It also boosts UK industrial capacity and presents an opportunity to create jobs and skills by creating specialist pipework manufacturing in Britain.”

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