A venture aimed at expediting remediation of nuclear waste at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina could cost more than the original $50 million estimate unless the management team in charge can rein in expenses, a project stakeholder said this week.
The site’s management and operations contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), announced in December 2015 plans to accelerate the facility’s environmental cleanup mission and save money through the development of a public-private partnership. The contractor and the Savannah River National Laboratory have teamed with the Aiken Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, a group headed by a local economic development group. Together, the team plans to bring a 70,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing center (AMC) to the area located no more than 20 miles from SRNL.
Will Williams, one of the members of the manufacturing partnership, said he is optimistic construction will begin in the second quarter of 2018 and finish up later that year. The team is waiting on DOE approval to reprice the venture.
The facility was supposed to cost between $45 million and $50 million. But the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) period expired in December, meaning the expense has likely increased, Williams said via email. “We will then have to go back and reprice everything because GMPs’ have a short shelf life. The cost of construction has increased since last fall. We will take what we had designed and price it then we will have to go through a round of Value Engineering (VE) to get the cost back to $45 million. VE means you go in and decide what can be cut, removed, etc.,” he said, adding that cuts could include square footage, walls, and windows.
The facility will include chemistry laboratories, engineering fabrication labs, and industrial work space. Construction will be funded through the public partner and SRNS would then lease the facility. DOE has not publicly said how much money the facility will save in the cleanup mission, but says the use of technology and reducing waste cleanup timelines would help cut costs.
