Vėtrūna severs contract with Nukem on Ignalina decommissioning projects

Vėtrūna had terminated the contract last Friday because Nukem Technologies had not covered accumulated arrears. In line with the procedures set forth in the contract, Nukem was notified about the termination of the contract in advance.

“It is the first time in the company’s 17-year history that we found ourselves forced to terminate the contract that was one of the largest in the company’s history,” Vėtrūna CEO, Rolandas Baškys, told BNS.

The company had to admit that it could not work efficiently at the site of nuclear waste storage facilities, he added.

“Payments for works have always been late without any objective reasons. The customer would not provide the projects ... readied for work for months hence our workers are forced just to sit and wait most of the time. We refuse to imitate work, to pretend that the project is being implemented and prefer to exit the project,” Baškys said.

Vėtrūna suspended works at INPP sites on 31 May. The workers had already been transferred to other sites developed by Vėtrūna all across Lithuania, Baškys said.

Nukem Technologies’ representatives earlier claimed that the amount that was overdue in making payments to Vėtrūna was “very small”.

Vėtrūna confirmed officially early in June that it had suspended works at INPP due to overdue payments. BNS sources said that the amounts payable to Vėtrūna by Nukem were approximately six months overdue and the number of workers at the site was being reduced gradually from January when the talks were opened.

Nukem is carrying out two major decommissioning projects at the Ignalina plant: a 123- million-euro solid radioactive waste storage facility complex and a spent fuel storage facility, initially estimated to cost 193 million euros. The projects are running some three to four years behind schedule.

Nukem Technologies and Vėtrūna signed a contract early in August 2010. Vėtrūna was hired to build a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. It was also engaged in the construction of facilities for the solid radioactive waste storage complex.