First stage of the ITER project

5 July 2010 - New contracts - France

Within the framework of the ITER project (which aims to prove that nuclear fusion could become a viable source of power by the year 2050), the first contract for the construction of the test building, on the CEA site at Cadarache (south of France), was awarded on 20 May to the consortium formed by GTM Sud, leader, Chantiers Modernes Sud and Campenon Bernard Sud-Est (all subsidiaries of VINCI Construction France) and Dodin Campenon Bernard (VINCI Construction). Destined to accommodate the “tokamak”, the core element of the installation, this building (length:130 m; width: 90 m; height: 50 m) will be constructed in reinforced concrete and separated from its bottom slab by some 600 anti-seismic supports. The contract comprises a firm tranche, for the earthworks and the structural works for the main bottom slab, and conditional tranches relating to the creation of the lower slab and the foundations of the coil assembly hall. Worth a total of nearly €36.6m, the works began in mid-June.