UK suppliers benefitting from £2.5bn in Sizewell C contracts as project celebrates first year of construction

By Comms Team | Published on 15 January 2025 | 5 min read
  • Sizewell C currently has nearly 300 active UK suppliers – with a contract value of £2.5bn  
  • Suffolk-based project delivered over £100m in local contracts in first year of construction 
  • Key project milestones achieved in first twelve months, including Nuclear Site Licence
  • £250m local benefits package activated in first year, with benefits across East of England  

Sizewell C is already delivering £2.5bn in contracts to nearly 300 UK suppliers, the project announced today as it marked its first year of construction on the Suffolk coast.    

The 3.2GW nuclear power project – which will deliver 70% of its construction value to UK companies and support 70,000 high-quality jobs across the UK – is committed to spending £4.4bn in the East of England alone across the construction period. In its first year of construction, the Suffolk-based project surpassed £100m in local contracts.  

The contracts milestone caps a hugely successful first year of construction for Sizewell C. The project has made significant progress across its main development site, including archaeology and earthworks, as well as the preparatory work for its concrete batching plant and temporary desalination plant.   

It completed new site offices on its Ancillary Construction Area (ACA), as well as delivering enhancements to local road and rail infrastructure, and beginning work on its park and ride sites. 

In its first year of construction, the project secured its Nuclear Site Licence in April, agreed one of the largest letting transactions in the UK for storage and logistics, and signed agreements for best in class conditions for its workers. 

Julia Pyke and Nigel Cann, Joint Managing Directors of Sizewell C, said: “It’s been an incredible first year of construction for Sizewell C. We’ve now got around 1,000 people driving this project forward both on our main development site and off-site infrastructure, and we’ll have around 2000 people by the end of the year with around double the amount of apprentices.  

“We’re making big gains with early manufacturing, with equipment already 20% through manufacture. That means we’re already able to deliver significant contract value to suppliers and drive growth right here in the UK. 

“Building on the work of Hinkley Point C, we have a fixed design and a capable and industrialized supply chain in place, and that gives us a big advantage when it comes to cost certainty and clarity of schedule. A year down the line of formal construction, we’re in a very strong position to deliver a project that will provide lower bills and clean energy to six million homes, thousands of good jobs, and energy security for Britain.” 

Sizewell C has signed multiple contracts with businesses across Suffolk, covering everything from construction and aggregates to building supplies and energy systems. Today it announced further regional contracts including a £19m contract for Ipswich-based business, Jackson Civil Engineering, to deliver key road schemes early in 2025.    

New contracts with local third sector partners include agreements with Royal British Legion Industries and a two-year licence to run the Sizewell C site coffee shop for Combat2Coffee, a community interest company which invests profits to benefit veterans, ex-uniformed personnel, their families and communities.  

Brian Crofton, Managing Director, Jackson Civil Engineering, said: “As a local supplier with our head office in Suffolk, we are delighted to be awarded the contract for the first of many off-site infrastructure works for Sizewell C.  

“Sizewell C is a key scheme for the region and it will be instrumental in developing the local economy, creating jobs and upskilling many people living in Suffolk, and by working alongside Sizewell C we look forward to playing our part in this once-in-a-generation opportunity.” 

£250m local benefits package underway 

After triggering its DCO and commencing construction, the project also launched a £250m package of funding for the local community, which is available in phases during construction. 

The funding includes £100m for the environment, £12m to support local tourism, and a £12m housing fund to boost private housing and tourist accommodation. 

It also includes a £23m Sizewell C Community Fund, which will make around £2m available to local organisations each year for ten years. In the first round of awards, nine charities and not-for-profit groups which deliver services in the East Suffolk area received grants amounting to more than £300,000, with the next group of successful applicants to be announced soon. 

Anna Hughes, Interim Chief Executive of Suffolk Community Foundation, said: “This important fund will make a significant difference to our local communities by providing opportunities to support quality of life and wellbeing over the next decade. We are delighted that the first grants have been awarded, and we look forward to watching the successful projects progress over the coming months and seeing first-hand the benefits they will bring for communities and their residents.” 

Jobs pledges and first apprentices join the project  

Over sixty apprentices have now joined the Sizewell C team, the first of at least 1,500 apprenticeships the project will deliver over the construction period.  

Sizewell C will support thousands of jobs across the country, with at least one third of the peak construction workforce of 7,900 coming from the local area. The project made a series of local jobs pledges in its first year, including for local urban centres Lowestoft and Ipswich, and launched the first in a series of jobs fairs to ensure that opportunities are made available to the region.   

Project delivers successful local forums  

To ensure local people continue to have their say during construction, Sizewell C also launched community forums so that residents can access the latest news and engage with the project team as the construction progresses. The project delivered 14 forums during the course of the first year of construction. Its full schedule of forums for 2025 is already available online. 

Tagged with: DCO, Supply Chain
Posted by Comms Team