The ITER Organisation has awarded a EUR 174 million construction management contract for assembly and installation of a Tokamak reactor and support system in Saint Paul-les-Durance in France, during which more than one million components supplied by the ITER partners will be aggregated into the world’s largest nuclear fusion machine and plant.

Following a year-long international tender, a Construction Management-as-Agent contract was signed on 27 June with the MOMENTUM joint venture, led by Amec Foster Wheeler in partnership with Assystem and KEPCO Engineering and Construction. The ITER Organisation has overall responsibility for the successful integration and assembly of components delivered to the site by the seven ITER Members.

The scope of services for the MOMENTUM contract includes contract management, configuration management, project management, construction preparation, site coordination, works supervision, and activities leading up to mechanical completion. The contract does not cover design, fabrication of components, building construction, or building services. An estimated 2,000 workers are expected on site during the peak of assembly and installation activities.

ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot said in a statement that the role of the Construction Management-as-Agent was absolutely central to the success of the ITER Project. “And since fusion holds so much potential as an environmentally clean and virtually limitless, safe source of energy, the stakes of success for the seven ITER Members are very high. With the expertise represented by the MOMENTUM joint venture, we feel confident that the assembly and installation of the ITER facility will meet its objectives: delivery on time and on budget with the highest standards of quality,” he said.

Kick-off for the contract was scheduled for August, when a 30- person mobilisation team selected from the three partner companies by the MOMENTUM joint venture arrived on site to start the initial preparation period. The team’s first task will be to work with the ITER Organisation to understand and improve the procedures, plans and detailed schedules already in place.