File Photo (Adam Riley / Acadia Broadcasting)
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is ready to move on to the next phase of their Deep Geological Nuclear Repository near Ignace.
Five vendors have been approved by the NWMO for the design and planning phase of the project.
Craig MacBride is a spokesperson for NWMO and says all five are experts in their fields.
“It will be a unique construction…the parts of it are all things these companies have expertise in like mining, nuclear materials handling, construction,” explains MacBride.
“So, it’s all stuff these people have done before, but all ties together in one, unique, one-of-a-kind project.”
The NWMO says it will be working with WSP Canada Inc., Peter Kiewit Sons ULC (Kiewit), Hatch Ltd., Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada Ltd. and Kinectrics Inc.
MacBride says the next phase will take about three years to complete.
“At the stage that we’re at now, what we’re announcing the five companies that will design and plan the Deep Geological Repository, so that once we get licenses to construct, we are set up to start moving quickly.”
He adds the companies and the NWMO will work as one team, co-located to move the project forward.
MacBride expects the design and planning phase should be complete by 2028, and the regulatory process of licensing the nuclear waste facility should take until 2033.
