Nesma, French Bouygues collaborate to build Saudi’s 1st nuclear plant

By Arya M Nair, Official Reporter
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Saudi Arabia’s Nesma & Partners, a leading contracting company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a French civil engineering services provider, Bouygues Travaux Publics to implement all civil and construction works at the first-ever nuclear plant to be built in Saudi Arabia.

The two signed the MoU in Paris at the World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE 2021). Bouygues Travaux Publics has entered into a framework agreement with French power giant Electricité de France (EDF) for global cooperation on future projects based on European Pressurized Reactors (EPR) technology.

Designed by leading French nuclear reactor maker Areva, EPR is the world’s largest reactor model with a capacity of 1,600 MW. Apart from this first project in Saudi Arabia, the Bouygues Travaux Publics-EDF alliance is working on similar projects in India, the Czech Republic, and Poland.

According to EDF, these agreements reflect both groups’ shared vision to strengthen their long-standing co-operation on the export market, with Bouygues Travaux Publics confirming its commitment as a historic partner of EDF’s new nuclear EPR projects.

The French electricity giant is actively promoting its unique nuclear reactor technology portfolio, services, and emphasizing its capabilities across the nuclear lifecycle, from engineering to construction to operations and maintenance, training and skills development, and decommissioning and waste management.

“The signatures of these industrial co-operation agreements clearly demonstrate the growing interest of many countries in nuclear energy and our ambition to secure robust partnerships with local supply chains for EPR projects worldwide,” noted EDF Chairman and CEO Mr. Jean-Bernard Lévy.

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