ENGINEERING firm Aker Kvaerner has won a contract worth millions of pounds to assist in a decommissioning project at Sellafield nuclear power plant.

Plant owner British Nuclear Group has awarded the £15m contract to the ACKtiv Nuclear joint venture - Aker Kvaerner (AK) Engineering Services, Atkins and Carillion.

The deal is worth £6m to AK Engineering Services, which last week announced its move from Richardson Road, in Stockton, to nearby Surtees Business Park, in Bowesfield Lane - providing office space for about 440 staff.

The deal will see the partners assist in the safe decommissioning and site remediation of Sellafield's waste storage plant.

The project entails stripping out, refurbishing and modifying the existing storage building and is scheduled to run until March 2009.

Dave Ley, president of AK Engineering Services, said: "This is a major strategic project opportunity to extend our relationship with British Nuclear Group at Sellafield and our portfolio of nuclear projects throughout the UK."

ACKtiv Nuclear has previously delivered more than £40m-worth of similar decommissioning projects over the past three years.

The Sellafield project is one of three contract wins AK Engineering Services hinted at last week.