The EDF group plans to entrust the civil engineering of the mega-construction site for new EPR2 nuclear reactors to a consortium bringing together Vinci, Bouygues, Eiffage, as well as NGE and Fayat.
As the EPR2 program gradually enters its operational phase, EDF would consider profoundly changing the organization of future civil engineering markets. According to the newspaper The Echoes“for the structural work contract, estimated at around ten billion euros (in 2020 euros), the three majors Vinci, Bouygues, Eiffage not only made common cause, but also brought on board NGE and Fayat, the numbers four and five in the sector, Fayat being a regular partner of the giant Vinci“, we can read in the daily newspaper.
A major consortium for the “construction site of the century”
THE French nuclear revival project provides for the construction of six EPR2 reactors. The first two units must be installed at Penly, in Seine-Maritimebefore deployment to Gravelines, in the Norththen at Bugey, in Ain. The first reactors are expected by 2038.
In this context, the civil engineering market appears to be one of the most strategic lots of the program. According to The Echoesthe three French majors in the sector have chosen to join forces to respond to future EDF consultations: “pFor the structural work contract, estimated at around ten billion euros (in 2020 euros), the three majors Vinci, Bouygues, Eiffage not only made common cause, but also brought on board NGE and Fayat, the numbers four and five in the sector, Fayat being a regular partner of the giant Vinci“, indicates the economic daily.
This configuration would constitute a major evolution in the industrial approach adopted until now. In 2023, Eiffage had in fact alone won the civil engineering contract for the first two EPR2s at Penlythen ahead of a group made up of Bouygues and Vinci.
The EPR2 program today constitutes the largest industrial and economic program in Europe. A major component of the nuclear revival in France, this program is fully in line with the national energy strategy aimed at guaranteeing a supply of carbon-free, safe and sustainable electricity. © EDF
Reduce costs and secure program execution
The financial stakes are considerable. THE civil engineering today represents the main expenditure item for the EPR2 program presented by EDF to the State. The overall cost of the six reactors was estimated at 72.8 billion euros, safety margins included. According to The Echoes“the electrician, who has until now chosen Eiffage for the only pair of Penly, hopes to reduce the costs and deadlines of the construction site of the century.
Structural work is notably among the main optimization levers identified by EDF. They alone could contribute to several billion euros of potential savings on the overall program. Questioned about this information, EDF neither confirmed nor denied the hypothesis of a future grouping. The company, however, recalls that it is engaged in a process of improving the competitiveness of the project.
EDF thus underlines that it is “engaged for several months in a competitiveness approach aimed at improving its offer and the cost of the EPR2 Project“and specifies that a call for expressions of interest”was launched last March in this sense“concerning the civil engineering works.
The energy company also indicates that this reflection has no impact on the contracts already awarded for the Penly site.
Drawing lessons from Flamanville to succeed in nuclear recovery
Beyond just the economic question, this strategic development reflects EDF’s desire to secure the execution of a particularly complex program. The group seeks in particular to avoid a repetition of the difficulties encountered on the Flamanville EPR construction sitemarked by significant delays and budget overruns. The first adjustments to the calendar already demonstrate this caution. There casting of the first concrete in Penlya symbolic step marking the effective launch of construction, was thus postponed from 2026 to 2028.
With this in mind, the use of an enlarged group would be inspired by models already used on large rail or transport infrastructure projects. The objective would be to:
– pool skills;
– Share feedback;
– And, finally, strengthen available industrial capacities in order to support the gradual ramp-up of construction sites.
If this orientation were to be confirmed, it would constitute one of the most important alliances ever envisaged in the French construction sectoraround a program designed to mobilize the construction giants for several decades.
