With the handoff, Bechtel now is coordinating contractors and supervising construction activity and site safety at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in Choczewo, north of Gdansk near Poland’s Baltic Sea coast. More than 400 people are working on the project, about one-third of them local hires, the company said.

With the initial earthworks contract, Bechtel is starting "the first permanent plant work" that is intended to create “the platform for the next phase," said Project Director Ed Gore.

Polish contractor Budimex is performing the initial earthwork across a 740-acre site. The package includes grading and leveling, drainage upgrades and about 10 miles of temporary roads.

A June 30 Stage 2 preparatory work permit authorizes surveying and site leveling; about 88 acres for warehouse and technical support facilities; 7.5 acres for office and worker support facilities; and 13.5 acres for parking.

Temporary potable- and raw-water systems, sanitary and storm sewers, electrical distribution and telecommunications infrastructure are also authorized. According to the permit, a planned temporary electrical network will later use an underground medium-voltage loop with distribution transformers rated from 500 kVA to 2,500 kVA.

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ENR reported in December 2024 that the project schedule had slipped by three years, with first nuclear concrete pushed to 2028 and commercial operation of the first unit to 2036. At the time, Bechtel was conducting geological and hydrogeological surveys across the 30-hectare site.

The project has an estimated investment cost of about $52 billion, according to the European Commission. Poland has authorized about $15.8 billion in state capitalization for PEJ, with the financing model calling for 70% of project costs to come from external debt.

Eleven specialized workshop buildings will support structural fabrication, reinforcing steel, HVAC, electrical work, coatings, precast concrete, stainless steel, valves and other trades.

Among the largest facilities will be a 76,400-sq-ft module assembly building east of the future generating units. Rising about 146 ft, the steel-framed structure will be built on a monolithic reinforced-concrete mat foundation.

The permit requires construction-support facilities to remain at least 330 ft from the Mierzeja Sarbska Natura 2000 site, part of the European Union’s network of protected habitats, and 80 ft from the Biebrowski Canal. Along the coast, a forested wildlife migration corridor at least 650-ft wide must remain between the dunes and the cleared zone's northern edge.

The permit also requires at least one year of groundwater monitoring before nuclear-facility construction begins, using a minimum of five piezometers recording water levels on both the upgradient and downgradient sides of the nuclear island. Excavations must be protected from groundwater inflow, with permitted measures including cutoff walls, diaphragm walls and soil-cement columns.

“Steady progress on our project is crucial to maintaining the construction schedule,” PEJ President Marek Woszczyk said when participants extended their Engineering Development Agreement in December, as negotiations on the main EPC contract continued. The amendment incorporated “some of the work that was originally supposed to be included in the EPC contract,” he said, allowing that work to proceed before the construction agreement is finalized.

Westinghouse Poland President Mirosław Kowalik said the extension allows design and engineering work to advance, including documentation needed to procure long-lead items and support the license application, while Bechtel Polska President Leszek Hołda said it allows engineering and preparatory work to continue “until the conclusion of the EPC contract.”

The amended scope includes design of the nuclear island, turbine island and balance-of-plant systems and another geotechnical campaign involving 1,000 borings totaling nearly 9.3 miles and 7,000 laboratory tests. Procurement work also is continuing on long-lead plant components.

One major equipment package is already placed. Bechtel and Westinghouse selected EDF subsidiary Arabelle Solutions in January to supply three steam turbine-generator sets and major steam-cycle equipment for the plant. Each turbine-generator shaftline will extend about 223 ft and include high-, intermediate- and low-pressure turbine modules coupled to a hydrogen- and water-cooled generator.

PEJ submitted its nuclear construction-license application March 31. Woszczyk said the filing and its attachments comprise "over 40,000 pages,” demonstrating “the scale and complexity of our project.”

Poland’s National Atomic Energy Agency has up to 24 months to decide on the nuclear construction license application, excluding the time required for supplemental documentation. PEJ is set to apply for a building permit from the regional government in 2027. Until both approvals are in place, current activity remains preparatory work.

In all, construction of the three units is expected to take about seven years before testing and commissioning, with commercial operation targeted for 2036, 2037 and 2038.

Poland also plans a second nuclear plant and expects to select a technology and financial partner in 2027, Deputy Energy Minister Wojciech Wrochna said in June, according to Reuters. The news service reported that Westinghouse, France’s EDF and Canada’s AtkinsRéalis, which offers CANDU technology, are the active candidates.