ENGIE has awarded the contract to oversee the demolition of Hazelwood Power Station to international industrial technology giant ABB .
The company will use industry specialists in the UK to guide ENGIE through the process of planning for demolition and managing demolition contractors.
ABB’s Australian arm will provide management support and advice. It will also develop technical and commercial documents to knock down the now fully-decommissioned power station.
This planning stage work will more than likely take until the end of the year to complete.
ABB UK oil gas and chemicals service head Troy Stewart said a number of factors had led to the company winning the contract.
“A combination of our local ABB presence in Australia, our position as a global leader in late life, decommissioning and demolition consultancy for the high hazard industries, and our extensive experience on other decommissioning and demolition projects in the power generation sector put us in a strong positon,” Mr Stewart said.
Hazelwood rehabilitation project director Tony Innocenzi said ABB would ensure they were in the best position to undertake the large scope of works associated with demolition.
“Drawing on the expertise of ABB will assist in the pre-planning work required for the power station demolition,” Mr Innocenzi said.
“Support will also be provided in the development of the demolition tender specification and in the final steps of tendering to contractors and tender evaluation.”
ABB specialises in decommissioning and demolition projects, working on high hazard industrial assets and removing redundant equipment.
The company works across a range of sectors.
An ENGIE spokeswoman said ABB would call for demolition tenders towards the end of this year, and the station was due to come down in 2020.
She said the entire project could take up to three years.
“It is far too early to estimate how many jobs will be required. ENGIE’s preference remains for our contractors to use local labour whenever possible,” she said.
She said planning for all works, including asbestos removal will be carried out in accordance with regulatory obligation.
“Our priority is the health and safety of our employees and the community,” she said.
