ENGINEERING group Aker Kvaerner has won a major stake in a £21m decommissioning project at Sellafield.

As part of the ACKtiv Nuclear Joint Venture - alongside the Atkins and Carillion groups - Kvaerner, which has its engineering base on Teesside, will help with the decommissioning work at the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond.

It follows a £15m contract awarded to the group by British Nuclear Group, in February, to work on an operational export facility at the site.

Kvaerner holds a 40 per cent stake in the new contract, and although the company said it was unlikely to lead to further job creation in the North-East, the contract win would help it achieve its turnover target.

Although the company has not released its financial goals, Bjorn Erik Naess, chief executive of the Aker Kvaerner Group, said recently he is confident of further and consistent growth in its engineering division.

Stewart Sikora, BNG Sellafield Limited project manager, said: "ACKtiv Nuclear has built a reputation for safe and effective delivery and we are looking forward to working with them on one of the most challenging aspects of the Sellafield clean-up."