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Jacobs selected for Cape Town nuclear plant refurbishment

US engineer Jacobs has won a role on the $1.2bn programme to extend the operating life of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant near Cape Town, South Africa. 

It will help prepare for the installation of six new steam generators, each weighing about 380 tons, at the two-reactor plant operated by Eskom.

Jacobs will be responsible for construction management related to modifications to the secondary turbine system. The scope of work includes prefabrication of piping, pipe supports and modification, and piping replacement; installation of on-site scaffolding, rigging and lagging; vessel modifications and strengthening; and replacement of forced air cooler units. 

Work on replacing the steam generators for the first of Koeberg’s two units is scheduled to start during a planned outage in January 2022, with the overall project taking two years to complete. 

Koeberg is South Africa’s only nuclear power plant, and generates 5% of its electricity. 

Karen Wiemelt, a Jacobs senior vice president, said: “This project is vital to maintain the pivotal role of nuclear power in South Africa’s energy mix. 

“To date, this is the largest single contract for our nuclear team in South Africa, which has successfully completed numerous engineering, procurement and construction projects to support operations at Koeberg over the past 30 years.”

Image: The Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant (Paul Scott/ChNPP/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0)

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