Construction of reactor in Olkiluoto is nine months behind schedule

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The construction project of power company Teollisuuden Voima's (TVO) new commercial nuclear reactor in Olkiluoto is currently already as much as nine months behind schedule.
      Moreover, the supplier of the unit, a French-German consortium comprising Areva and Siemens, is also disappointed in the unexpectedly feeble interest shown in subcontracts by Finnish companies.
     
According to TVO's Project Director Martin Landtman,, there are several reasons for the delay. Due to non-conformities detected in the quality of the concrete, the pouring work of the reactor's 60-metre diameter base slab was suspended for a couple of months.
      At this point, TVO is unwilling to evaluate the size of possible cost effects caused by the delay.
      "We still have three years left of the planned construction time", says Landtman. He also notes that the quality problems have been taken care of.
      Despite the delays, Landtman believes that the new 1,600-megawatt power plant will be switched on in the course of 2009 as planned.
     
Construction worker Markus Aalto from Pori has been working at the Olkiluoto site for the French subcontractor Bouygues for some three months. He has a three-year contract which extends until the completion of the reactor building.
      "The pay level is very low compared with that at the Finnish construction companies. Moreover, the construction site is stiff and hierarchical", Aalto observes.
      Currently, around 1,100 subcontractors from 26 different countries are involved in the Olkiluoto project. About half of them are Finnish companies.
      A total of around 500 workers are employed at the power plant site, representing more than 20 different nationalities.
     
The supplier of the unit is a French-German consortium comprising Areva - the former Framatome ANP - and Siemens. The consortium's general project director for Olkiluoto 3 Ulrich Giese admits to being disappointed in the lack of interest shown by Finnish companies.
      "In Finland, there is a current demand for subcontracts and the building industry is enjoying a boom. In any event, the majority of the construction work has to be carried out in Finland, and there are still a large number of subcontracts available. However, if there are not enough workers in the country, they will be brought from abroad", Project Director Giese reports.
      The erection of the largest structure - the reactor building - will start at the end of the upcoming sommer. By then a large number of construction workers will be needed.
      The total capacity of TVO's present two units in Olkiluoto is 1,700 megawatts. They make the majority of the company's annual turnover of approximately EUR 200 million.
      A potential delay of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power production would create further pressure on the price of Finnish electricity.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Construction Trade Union threatens strike at nuclear plant construction site (31.10.2005)
  French company to construct nuclear reactor buildings in Olkiluoto (24.3.2005)

Links:
  Teollisuuden Voima: Olkiluoto 3 - current news in March 2006
  Teollisuuden Voima: Supplier confirms delay in the execution of Olkiluoto 3

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