Olkiluoto 3 - Current news in September 2007

Some 1700 direct subcontractors are now involved in the OL3 project, a little over 40 % of them Finnish companies. Total manpower on the construction site has increased to ca. 2200, and Finnish workers account for about one third of the manpower. Polish workers represent another third, and the next largest groups of workers come from Germany, France, Estonia and Slovakia. All in all about 30 different nationalities are represented on the site.

Installation of reinforcement and pouring operations continue on a large scale at the reactor plant. The reworking project of the horizontal weld in the steel liner of the containment is under way. So far some 45000 cubic metres of concrete has been poured in the reactor island.

The last concreting operations are under way in the turbine building. Five of the six turbine condenser blocks have already been installed. The total amount of concrete used at the turbine plant is more than 37000 cubic metres. The switchgear building has reached eaves height, and at present work focuses on building of partition walls, painting operations and installation of cable shelves. The base slab of the circulating water pump building has been placed and the pouring of walls has started.

All large components for the OL3 reactor island and turbine island are now in manufacture, and factory tests have started. The final assembly welding of the reactor pressure vessel has been completed in Japan. The first low-pressure turbine will be shipped to Olkiluoto by the end of the year, and the rest of the turbines as well as the generator will arrive on the site during winter 2008.