Northwestern Ontario nuclear waste storage site moves forward as 5 vendors chosen

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has chosen five vendors to design and plan Canada's first deep geological repository —  a multibillion-dollar project that aims to eventually store the country's nuclear waste. 

The NWMO announced in November that Northwestern Ontario had been chosen for the repository.

A site near Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation has been identified as the NWMO's preferred location for the project, which will store nuclear waste hundreds of metres underground.

In a Monday news release, the NWMO said the vendors chosen are:

• WSP Canada Inc.
• Peter Kiewit Sons ULC (Kiewit).
• Hatch Ltd.
• Thyssen Mining Construction of Canada Ltd.
• Kinectrics Inc. 

"This is an exciting milestone for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization and for the nuclear industry in Canada," Craig MacBride, the NWMO's manager of public and media relations, told CBC Thunder Bay.

"It's the next step in the process to permanently isolate and contain Canada's used nuclear fuel, and we've teamed up with five great companies to help us make it a reality."

MacBride said the five companies will cover six categories of pre-construction work: design/engineering, above-ground construction design, mine design, underground mine construction design, nuclear management advice and nuclear systems and facilities. 

Laurie Swami, the NWMO's president and CEO, said the organization is proud to engage with "five experienced and respected companies" to design and plan the repository.

"We're excited to work with them to move toward our goal of containing and isolating Canada's used nuclear fuel," Swami wrote in a news release.

"While this is a unique project in Canada, the core needs are well established, and the companies chosen have deep experience in mining, construction design and the handling of nuclear materials." 

Speaking at the November announcement, Stephen Lecce, Ontario's minister of energy and electrification, said as the provincial government "expands our zero-emissions nuclear fleet to meet rising energy demand, Ontario is cementing its position as a world leader in all parts of the nuclear lifecycle. This achievement by NWMO is just the latest example."

Construction on the repository isn't expected to begin until the mid-2030s, with the goal of getting the site operational in the early 2040s, the NWMO has told CBC News.

The NWMO, which was founded in 2002, says the $26-billion project will create hundreds of jobs.