The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority confirmed the winning bid price this week after initially expecting the job to cost £15m-£17m.
Galliford Try’s Morrison Construction arm beat rival bidders McLaughlin & Harvey and Graham Construction to take the project, where initial building works are getting underway on the 14 month project.
The building will provide long-term storage for a huge volume of records and other archive material from civil nuclear sites dating back to the 1940’s.
The complex will be built close to Wick Airport, near the Dounreay experimental power complex, and will eventually house an estimated 30m digital, paper and photographic records from civil nuclear sites.
There are a staggering 250t of documents charting the development of Britain’s first fast-breeder nuclear reactor at Dounreay alone.
Edinburgh architecture practice Reiach and Hall worked up designs for the national nuclear archive to RIBA plan of works Stage 3, while Inverness contractor G & A Barnie will deliver M&E works.