Crossrail hole plotter USA Bechtel 'is advising Crossrail' and is also a BIG Player in the NUCLEARISATION of the Mid East!!!!

"
Amec in running for Gulf's £40bn nuclear project
British company one of nine candidates to manage construction and operation of the United Arab Emirates' power stations
By Mark Leftly
Sunday, 22 June 2008

Print Email

Search
Go
Independent.co.uk Web
Bookmark & Share

Digg It
del.icio.us
Facebook
Stumbleupon
What are these?

Change font size: A A A
Amec, the British engineering giant run by Samir Brikho, has emerged as a leading contender to manage the £40bn United Arab Emirates nuclear programme.

The FTSE-100 company is on a shortlist of nine for the role of managing agent. This would involve overseeing the technical design, construction and operation of around 14 nuclear facilities planned in the Gulf state.

Winning the contract would justify the decision of Amec to hire the Lebanese-born Mr Brikho as chief executive two years ago to refocus what was formerly mainly a building business on the energy and power markets. Amec, which has a turnover of £2.4bn a year, employs 22,000 people in more than 30 countries.

A spokesman confirmed on Friday: "We understand that we are one of a number of companies that have pre-qualified for the job."

Amec is sending a delegation to Abu Dhabi this week. The President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, is understood to want an appointment to be made by the end of the summer, so that work can begin on ambitious plans to generate 20 MW of electricity using nuclear power by the end of the next decade.

Although the UAE is a big oil producer, a recent government report concluded that it would require at least 40,000 MW to meet its energy needs by 2020. Known volumes of natural gas could provide only half of this, so alternative energy sources had to be identified. The UAE chose nuclear as the cheapest, most environmentally friendly option.

Other "tier-one" nuclear players tipped by industry insiders to be on the shortlist include the US giants CH2M Hill, Bechtel and Fluor Corporation.

CH2M Hill is managing the construction programme of the London 2012 Games as a key Olympic Delivery Partner. Bechtel is advising on Crossrail, the £16bn west-to-east London rail link that is scheduled to get Royal Assent later this year.

A Whitehall source said that the UAE's plan is to have 75 nuclear engineers working on the programme this year and 300 by the end of 2010. The source added that the UAE's nuclear policy had impressed the UK government, which is embarking on its own nuclear new-build programme. He said that officials in the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation were "very serious grown-ups".

The UK showed support for the UAE's nuclear programme last month when an agreement was struck between the Trade minister Sir Digby Jones and the UAE government. The memorandum of understanding hinted at a sharing of information and training between the two nations. The UAE signed a similar document with the US in April.

The Gulf state won international support after it promised that its move would be for "peaceful nuclear energy" and it therefore would not enrich uranium materials domestically; such processes can lead to the development of nuclear weapons. Instead, the government will buy in enriched fuel.

Smaller UK companies are also talking to the UAE about their nuclear plans. VT Group, which owns British Nuclear Group Project Services, has been contacted by the UAE government for advice.

"