Construction companies will be chosen for £1.8 billion of Great British Nuclear contracts to help prepare sites for the first small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plants next year.
The contracts will be dished out by the arms-length body between February and July, according to a Telegraph report.
Great British Nuclear was launched last year to support the rollout of SMRs in the UK, which are being developed by the likes of Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC and General Electric.
However, the final SMR projects operators have not yet been selected, and next year's contracts will be for 'delivery partners' to manage the construction of the SMRs over a period of 10 years, worth an estimated £800 million.
Smaller contracts are also up for tender, including owner’s engineer, foundation project management and foundation engineering.
Companies in the construction sector that could be up for these contracts include Laing O'Rourke and Bouygues, which are involved in the construction of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station; Balfour Beatty plc (LSE:BBY) and Morgan Sindall Group PLC (LSE:MGNS), which are involved in various nuclear projects, including decommissioning and waste management; and Costain Group PLC (LSE:COST): Provides engineering, construction, and maintenance services to the nuclear industry; and Jacob, which offers engineering, architecture, and construction management services to the nuclear sector; Keller Group PLC (LSE:KLR), a ground engineer, and Kier Group PLC (LSE:KIE), which has been working with X-energy and Cavendish Nuclear on exploring SMR opportunities, could also be in with a shout.