Engineering News

A consortium between two South African companies, Group Five, through Group Five Nuclear Construction Services, and Lesedi Nuclear Services, announced on Tuesday that it had secured a contract for the design, manufacture and replacement of the 1 800 m³ refuelling water storage tanks at Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station, in the Western Cape.

The value of the contract was not disclosed.
 
The tanks played a vital role in maintaining operational safety of the nuclear power plant by providing borated cooling water to the reactor and the fuel storage ponds. This required conformance to stringent nuclear quality and safety standards throughout the full lifecycle of the project.
 
As part of the skills development portion of the contract, the consortium committed to train 45 people across various occupational groups over the duration of the contract, which was scheduled for completion at the end of 2015.

This training process would include professional engineers, project managers, specialists, technicians and artisans.
 
“For Group Five, this is a step forward in our nuclear readiness strategy,” said Group Five Nuclear Construction Services director Des Muller.

“The group’s success in securing this contract is attributable to the alignment of our proven tank building capabilities with the timely investment and establishment of a dedicated and internationally experienced nuclear standards and leadership division. The consortium’s aligned strengths and capabilities – and those of its partners – have made it possible to achieve the high technical criteria set by Eskom, which is encouraging for the local industry. Our close cooperation with our consortium partner Lesedi Nuclear Services has made the localisation of a project of this magnitude a reality.”
 
Lesedi’s close relationship with Areva, the original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) for Koeberg, and a major shareholder in Lesedi Nuclear Services since 2006, had been a successful combination, added Lesedi Nuclear Services CEO Francis Carruthers.

He said the Koeberg contract was testament to the local industry’s ability to localise nuclear projects, while Areva’s involvement as the OEM ensured the safety and integrity of the tank design and conformance to international nuclear best practices.

“This was the perfect opportunity for the consortium to demonstrate a workable and sensible localisation programme for South Africa,” said Carruthers.

Lesedi had already completed more than 150 plant modifications at Koeberg.
 
Eskom was equally pleased to have South African suppliers qualify for a project of this nature, as it supported the parastatal’s drive for increased localisation, noted Koeberg senior manager nuclear projects Sedick Davis.

“We will not compromise on any quality aspects and expect this contract to be an example of what is achievable with local skills. The consortium will also be working with other South African service providers on this project, which will allow Eskom to gauge the extent to which cooperative local ventures are possible.”