MAGNOX, the company responsible for 10 UK nuclear power facilities including Sizewell A and Bradwell, has agreed an £80million outsourcing contract.

Interserve, the international support services and construction group, has been awarded a three-year integrated facilities management contract, including an option to extend the deal for a further three years.

It is the first time that Magnox has chosen to outsource all facilities management requirements across its entire estate to a single supplier under one contract agreement – a move it says will ensure the highest standards of safety and quality control as well as reducing costs.

Interserve will deliver services including mechanical and engineering maintenance, catering, cleaning, office services, grounds maintenance and civil works.

The sites, which employe more than 5,000 Magnox staff and contractors are at various stages of their lifecycles, ranging from Wylfa on Anglesey which is still generating electricity to Bradwell in Essex and Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd which are at an advanced stage in the decommissioning process.

At Sizewell A – where power generation ceased in 2006, four years after the shut-down at Bradwell – work is in progress in preparation for defuelling and decommissioning.

Magnox operates the sites on behalf of their owner, the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Peter May, head of commercial delivery at Magnox, said: “A single facilities management contract provides us with greater flexibility and a consistent approach to the delivery of services, as we strive for innovation and greater efficiency in all areas of our business.”

Guy Bruce, managing director – industrial at Interserve, added: “The wide range of services we deliver means we fully understand the nuclear industry’s required specifications and standards and through continued innovation and intelligent thinking we aim to exceed and improve on them every day.

“This is a really exciting opportunity for Interserve because not only does it significantly expand our capabilities in the sector, it gives us a footprint on many of the UK’s nuclear sites.”

Interserve is also the sole contractor in a four-year framework agreement with Magnox to design and construct facilities to store intermediate-level waste.