First Results From the ITER Project

Since work started on the ITER construction site in 2007, the project has generated €1.78 bn in contracts. Contracts awarded to French companies account for almost half this amount (€828 M), with €490 M (60 % of the French contracts in value terms) going to companies from the PACA region.

Five years down the line, the economic benefits from ITER more than offset the initial investment made by local government agencies. The PACA regional government, the six local Conseils Généraux (département-level governments) and  the Communauté du Pays d’Aix jointly financed the project to the tune of €467 M over ten years, providing funds for constructing the Manosque International School and the access route for the Tokamak sections between Berre and Cadarache.

The contracts awarded are not the only factor in the project’s impact. According to ITER Organization figures, the construction has generated nearly 3000 jobs (direct, indirect and derivative) since 2007. This outsized project, programmed to last several decades and on which construction is due to start gearing up from the end of 2012 onward, should lead to the creation of between 6500 and 6700 jobs over the coming years.