Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
7/10/2015
The losing teams in the Chalk River Government-owned Contractor-operated contract procurement do not have any avenue to protest the award, according to a Public Works and Government Services Canada spokesman last week. Canada used a third party independent fairness monitor to ensure the procurement abided by all rules and regulations, the spokesman said. For this reason, all decisions by the government are final. “This process included the use of a third-party independent fairness monitor, who will provide an independent opinion confirming the fairness, openness and transparency of the entire procurement process,” PWGS spokesman Pierre-Alain Bujold said in an email last week. “The government’s decision is final. Unsuccessful bidders were notified and provided with an opportunity for debrief.” Both the Bechtel and AECOM led teams declined to comment on their intentions to fight the award, and BWX Technologies indicated last week that it would not seek anyway to protest the award.
The CH2M-led Canadian National Energy Alliance team won the contract to manage the Chalk River Laboratories late last month. The CNEA team also includes the Fluor Government Group – Canada, Inc.; EnergySolutions Canada Group LTD.; SNC-Lavalin Inc.; and Rolls-Royce Civil Nuclear Canada Ltd. While the contract is still being finalized, estimates put the worth on the contract in the hundreds of millions dollar annually. According to Bujold, the contract will be finalized sometime in early fall of this year.
The contract calls for the management of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s nuclear laboratories, including the Chalk River Laboratories, the Whiteshell Laboratories, the three prototype reactor sites and the Laprade heavy water storage site under a Government-owned Contractor-operated (GoCo) model. “We are eager to support the Government of Canada in delivering on CNL’s waste and decommissioning responsibilities, supporting nuclear federal commitments and service customers of the Laboratories,” said Dyan Foss, Global Managing Director of CH2M’s Nuclear Sector, in a statement from last week. “CH2M will be able to leverage its demonstrated experience in managing large, complex programs, nuclear decommissioning, and waste management in support of CNL’s primary missions while meeting safety, quality and cost objectives.”
