Inside
the nuclear submarine refit basin 5 at Devonport Dockyard Inside
the nuclear submarine refit basin 5 at Devonport Dockyard Trident Refits and Nuclear Site Expansion
News Release and Updates
9th October 1996 For immediate release
Britains Defence Procurement Minister has confirmed that final agreement on the Trident refit and privatisation contract will not now take place until "around the turn of the year"
In a letter to local MP Gary Streeter following enquiries by DIG, James Arbuthnot has announced that the final written agreements to award the Trident (Vanguard) nuclear submarine refit contract and dockyard sell-off, due to be completed during the summer, will now be put back until the end of the year and even beyond.
The Minister blames "enormously complex issues" but fails to identify why the negotiations have dragged on so long or what these issues are. DIG has recently revealed that the governments nuclear site licensing body, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, has still not received vital safety reports (PCSR) on the Trident refit project without which construction may not begin. This could lead to serious delays in the project with the possibility of severe financial penalties if the new facilities are not built on time.
DIG estimate that the project has already slipped two years behind schedule. Back in April, after numerous delays, Defence Procurement Minister James Arbuthnot, announced a 'heads of agreement' had been reached between the Government and the Dockyards commercial management company Devonport Management Limited on the dock sell-off and Trident refit contract after DML's American parent company Brown and Root stepped in to prop up the deal by taking a larger share in the company. Final written contracts were meant to be completed this summer, but this has not happened.
"There must be something terribly wrong with this deal to lead to yet further delays. Ministers have repeatedly stood up in the House of Commons to give assurances on the refit and sell-off plans then only months later to give the same excuses again and again about the negotiations being "delicate", "complex" or "complicated" when no visible progress has been made at all. With only one bidder for Devonport Dockyard it was clearly an unpopular and risky venture in the first place. Now we suspect the Government is trying to rescue itself from an embarrassing U-turn by striking a favourable deal with DML's American parent company Brown & Root since they stepped in in April to prop up the sell-off." DIG.
DIG will be pressing the Defence Procurement Minister to state what he means by the "enormous complex issues", why the contracts are so secretive so that even our own local MP's are being kept in the dark and what are the hidden reasons behind the delays whether they be financial, safety aspects or incompetence.
Ends.
Controversy surrounds the Governments announcement on Tuesday 11th February to sell off Britains largest Navy docks and nuclear submarine base to an American owned company. The news came after almost two years of negotiations with the American owned Brown & Root which is controlled by the US Halliburton Holdings. At a knock-down price of only �40 million, the sell-off is being heralded as a give-away. The Government refuse to divulge the details of the deal with Devonport Management Limited (DML), though it is known their American parent company Brown & Root stepped in in April 1996 to bale out the privatisation deal as costs for rebuilding the dockyard and Trident refit facilities climbed from �237 million to an estimated �500 million. The deal came only weeks before the Government announced the date of the General Election on May 1st and both sides will have been keen to reach a final agreement. Speculation is on who put pressure on who and who gained?
Further report - taken from Sunday Times 16/2/97
"Trident Docks Cost Soars by �120 million "(UK pounds sterling)
UK Ministry of Defence refuse to disclose cost of proposed trident refit facility at Devonport Plymouth. But price thought to be 360 million pounds. Concern that new owners will be unable to complete construction work on time. Delay in signing of sell-off agreement thought to be due to UK government insisting costs be reduced to 320 million after DML said it would cost 400 million. Massive cost overrun will expose government to criticism when privatisation comes before the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (although by then we are likely to have had a change of government). It is believed Devonport was chosen for Trident refits despite massive costs in an attempt by the Conservative Government to retain a number of marginal seats in the SW of England. Labour say now contracts have been signed they will not attempt to reverse the decision to build Trident docks at Devonport.