The SMF will support the operations and maintenance of machinery used to retrieve waste from facilities at Sellafield and is vital to the hazard reduction programme.

The final stage follows a £5.5m preliminary design phase and £12.5m detailed design and enabling works.

The new mechanical handling plant will support two existing waste silos with retrieving historic waste and reducing hazard.

At the heart of the heavily reinforced concrete structure, which has a footprint of 0.5 hectares and will be 25 metres high, robotic installations will enable the Sellafield team to operate in a safe and controlled environment.

A team of more than 100 engineers including nuclear specialists, civil and structural engineers and architectural technicians is currently using Building Information Modelling to create a full 4D design specification that dramatically reduces the construction programme.

Work is scheduled to complete in autumn 2017, and the project will employ over 300 people at the height of construction.

Balfour Beatty Executive Chairman, Steve Marshall said: “The UK infrastructure market includes significant opportunities for nuclear decommissioning and clean-up activities.

“Similarly, new nuclear build and the construction of new power generation projects will bring us an opportunity to deploy our extensive experience.”