IT represents one of the biggest business opportunities which the region has seen - and it could be worth millions of pounds to North-East companies.

Now, they are being urged to bid for contracts in the £50bn programme to decommission the country's nuclear reactors.

The Government has announced that contracts will be available over the next 50 years at numerous sites throughout the UK, including Sellafield on the Cumbrian coast and Dounreay in Scotland.

Part of a programme to ensure a safe clean-up of ageing reactors and nuclear facilities, the contracts are available to companies ranging from specialist waste management operators and project managers to construction and engineering firms.

Over the past year, the Government has been considering proposals relating to many nuclear plants throughout the UK and it is expected that, within the next few months, decisions will be made on the top priority sites, allowing tendering to begin.

Leading the campaign to ensure the region's companies take advantage of the opportunities is One NorthEast and - to ensure that companies have access to appropriate knowledge - the British Nuclear Energy Society (BNES).

The London-based BNES, which has recently started a branch in the region, was created in 1962 as a learned society designed to encourage better understanding of nuclear energy.

Chairman of its special interest group in waste management and decommissioning is Michael Grave, decommissioning and waste management manager of Mitsui Babcock Energy Limited's Nuclear & Decommissioning Services, based in Gateshead, one of the North-East's leading decommissioning companies which is already at work on a number of sites, including Dounreay.

He said: "There is a renewed enthusiasm among companies wishing to work in the nuclear field and BNES interest is growing at the rate of 20 inquiries a month, many being young people.

"At the same time, the Government has decided to open up the nuclear plant decommissioning market to competition, which is presenting opportunities."

Lesley Alderman, One NorthEast's executive for nuclear power, said the Government had helped by assuming liability, which means funding for the work is underpinned by the Government.

British Nuclear Group (part of BNFL), which runs Sellafield and the Magnox Reactor fleet and UKAEA, which runs all the UK's former nuclear research facilities, will themselves become contractors to compete against strong international competition for tier 1 contracts to run one or more of the 20 nuclear sites. Tier 1 companies will then place contracts in the supply chain.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Agency (NDA) will start work next April to oversee the process.

The contracts do not necessarily just involve handling radioactive materials. Indeed, much of the work is of a non-nuclear nature including other wastes, the supply of equipment and services and construction and demolition work on plant.

New construction is needed because in order to decommission reactors, chemical plants are sometimes needed on site to process equipment and help with the sampling, retrieval, conditioning, packaging, transport and storage of radioactive materials.

Miss Alderman said a number of North-East companies were already working in the sector but added: "What we want to do is build up a supply chain which would make it more competitive. There are huge opportunities and we are working on a directory of companies involved in this kind of work.

"Different skills are required and in the North-East, with industries such as offshore oil industry, we have that kind of expertise. We are also encouraging companies to bid for contracts in alliances, bringing together a wide range of skills. We want as many companies as possible to be involved."

Working in alliances is something which Mitsui Babcock is already doing, and the company employs more than 1,000 people on nuclear site operations, including decommissioning and waste management. Many come from the North-East and are supplemented by workers from the company's supply chain and partners.

Mr Grave said it was important that companies were not put off by the complexity of decommissioning nuclear reactors and the NDA has already indicated that it is looking for less complex solutions.

Mr Grave said: "The onus is on innovation and simplicity and the North-East has plenty of companies which have developed innovative engineering solutions in order to survive.

"The industry has started looking towards simpler solutions, ways in which work can be done safer and cheaper, which means more companies can be involved."

He said they did not necessarily need to have a nuclear background but associations with companies experienced in work on nuclear sites was desirable to fit in with regulations covering quality, health and safety and environmental issues.

Beneath tier 1 companies will be tier 2 firms, smaller sub-contractors already likely to be engaged in project and site management support and implementation, and tier 3, including specialist suppliers and small and medium engineering companies. Other contracts would relate, for example, to legal and commercial services and universities are engaged in research which can be used in the work.

Many of the North-East companies which would be expected to take advantage of the contracts would be tier 3 companies but there are opportunities in all three tiers, said Mr Grave.

He said: "In the North-East, we have some major players when it comes to decommissioning work, but what One NorthEast has focused our attention on is looking at the local supply chain."

There was one problem, though, according to Mr Grave: the Government has not decided how, or where, waste from reactors should be finally disposed. That is an area which has caused concern among a public worried about materials which could be radioactive for a century or more.

What was certain was that interim radioactive waste stores would be required until a disposal route becomes available, said Mr Grave.

He said: "The UK market will continue to grow but political considerations need to remove the historical uncertainties in the industry which have made it difficult for companies to assess appropriate investment levels.

"Acceleration of the decommissioning, driven by the NDA, will help and, in the case of technology development, it is likely that may lead to export opportunities."

To achieve successful decommissioning would also help the case to build nuclear plants, which would be of enormous benefit to many companies in the North-East, he said.

Miss Alderman said: "We want to make people more aware of the opportunities that exist, not just in the UK but also in Europe where a number of nations are decommissioning their nuclear plants."

* The BNES held a launch event for its North-East branch on September 27 and follow-up workshops are planned. Business wishing to find out more about working in the sector can contact Miss Alderman on 0191-229 6373.