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DOUNREAY OPPORTUNITIES OUTLINED TO ORKNEY BUSINESSES 25 February 03

The £4 billion task of decommissioning the Dounreay nuclear site has been presented to Orkney businesses as a money earning opportunity they should thoroughly investigate.

At a special seminar organised by Orkney Enterprise, companies and organisations from the islands were invited to register an interest in finding out if the massive Dounreay project could become an important source of income in the future.

It was stressed that many non-specialist skills and supplies will be needed - everything from civil engineering and construction work to day-to-day goods like the food required for the 2,500-plus workforce at the Caithness site.

Many of those at the event said they had been surprised at the sheer scale of the decommissioning work and that they were keen to find out more about its potential impact on their businesses.  Decommissioning will take 60 years to complete but the work will peak in intensity over the next two
decades.

Many large new buildings will be needed. There is the potential for a factory to be set up to produce the special drums needed to store waste from the site. Consultants will be required as will a huge range of
supplies - everything from paint to potatoes!

David Richard-Jones, of the Decommissioning Task Force at Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise (CASE), said: "We realise that for many businesses there is no shortage of work in Orkney at present.  However, we are keen that Orkney firms do not ignore the enormous business opportunities that Dounreay presents, just because they are busy at the moment.

"Now is the time to plan for the future. There is a 20-year order book for work at Dounreay and not many companies know what they will be doing in 20 years time.

"What we are stressing is the need for expertise that has nothing to do with the nuclear industry. Civil engineers and construction firms will be needed to put up buildings. All sorts of trades will be required. And someone needs to supply enough potatoes to feed 2,500 people."

Orkney Enterprise chairman, businessman Brian Kynoch, said the seminar followed a visit to Caithness last year by the board of the Kirkwall-based development agency.  He said: " I am sure that many at the event will have felt reassured that many of the skills and professional services needed for
the decommissioning are available here in Orkney.

"I hope companies will reflect on how the Orkney economy might look in 10 to 15 years time and consider whether Dounreay could be an important opportunity for them."

Among those keen to be kept in touch with developments at Dounreay was Paddy Casey, managing director of Casey Construction, who expressed an interest in the number of buildings required as part of the decommissioning programme.

He said: "We are enjoying busy times in the construction industry at the moment but having said that, we would like to become involved in some of these impressive structures at Dounreay."

Charlie Kemp, managing director of Orkney Builders (Contractors) Ltd, said the decommissioning project could see history repeating itself for workers from the islands.

"This is an opportunity we should all be well aware of," he said. "When a recession hit Orkney in the 1950s, a lot of men went across the Pentland Firth to help build Dounreay.   They are now retired but if there is another down turn in our economy, the next generation have the chance to go back and help in all the work that is involved in the decommissioning."

Ian Sloan, a director of the Pentarq firm of architects and surveyors, said he was pleased that a big effort was being made to involve Highlands and Islands companies in the project.  Commenting after the seminar he said: "There is a real opportunity here for local businesses to expand their horizons. In principal, Orkney consultants and contractors have the skills for much of the work that will be required at Dounreay."

Stewart May, from the Shapinsay-based electronics and systems consultancy Markcool Ltd, said he hoped there would be opportunities for Dounreay-related work for his business in 18 months to two years time.

"This is a £4 billion project that is going to last for 60 years, with a good percentage of that money coming back into the local economy. That has to be exciting," he said.

Many of the companies at the seminar took the opportunity to register their businesses on-line with the Inverness Euro Info Centre ( www.publictender.co.uk ). They will now be sent information about contracts at Dounreay and other projects free of charge.