Five companies have been chosen by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization to design and plan Canada’s deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel in Northwestern Ontario.
The five companies include WSP Canada Inc., Peter Kiewit Sons ULC (Kiewit), Hatch Ltd., Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada Ltd., and Kinectrics Inc.
Craig MacBride, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s public and media relations manager, said the companies will work on facility infrastructure design and engineering, mine design, mine construction planning, nuclear management advising and nuclear systems and facilities design.
“They have a massive amount of expertise and knowledge about the pieces we need to put into the design and plan of the deep geological repository, MacBride said.
He said the companies are not based in Northwestern Ontario, with the exception of WSP Canada Inc., which operates a satellite office in Thunder Bay.
There were 31 companies that responded to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s request for supplier qualifications, with 15 of them being invited to respond to the organization’s request for proposals. Ten of these companies took part in the request for proposal process and five were selected.
“The (design) contract goes into 2028 and for planning purposes, we assume that we could see shovels in the ground in 2033,” MacBride noted.
“This is the design, planning stage, which involves the regulatory phase, and the Indigenous-led regulatory assessment and approval process, a sovereign regulatory process that will be developed and implemented by Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation. The regulatory phase is a multi-year process with the federal government and until that’s finished, there won’t be any shovels in the ground.”
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization and the companies will work as one co-located team.
Laurie Swami, Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s president and chief executive officer, said they are excited to begin work with what she called “five experienced and respected companies.”
MacBride said that they are still quite a bit away from shovels in the ground, and that’s when the people will see a “bit of an explosion” in hiring.
“This is a milestone moment for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization and for the nuclear sector in Canada,” he said. “We’re one step closer to making the deep geological repository a reality, which will isolate and contain Canada’s used nuclear fuel. It’ll close the loop for the nuclear fuel cycle and it’ll create an enormous amount of economic impact in the Northwest and a lot of jobs.”
He added that it’s a good feeling to be taking the next “concrete” step after the NWMO’s siting announcement late last year.
Responsibilities of firms
The selected vendors will have the following responsibilities:
Design/engineering
WSP will be responsible for all architectural design and engineering for the project, excluding the engineering and design related to mine and waste rock pile design, shafts, headframes and hoisting design and the Used Fuel Packaging Plant.
Construction
Kiewit will be responsible for all above-ground construction design required to build the deep geological repository.
Mine design
Hatch will be responsible for all aspects of the project related to underground mine and waste rock management, as well as shaft, headframe and hoisting systems related to the design and construction of the deep geological repository.
Mine construction
Thyssen Mining will be responsible for the underground mine construction design of the service, test and demonstration area, as well as the sinking of three shafts into the repository.
Nuclear management advisor
Kinectrics will be responsible for in-depth nuclear operations management expertise and advice to inform the development and planning of the project, design, oversight and assurance framework and quality assurance programs.
Nuclear systems and facilities
Hatch will be responsible for all aspects of the project related to nuclear facilities and the used fuel packaging plant.
