MONTREAL - SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. and Holtec International have announced a joint venture that will focus on the decommissioning of shuttered nuclear power plants.

Terms of the agreement were not immediately available.

The company to be named Comprehensive Decommissioning International LLC will be based in Camden, N.J.

The joint venture expands an existing collaboration between the companies on Holtec's small modular reactor.

SNC and Holtec say decommissioning has become a rapid growth market with a forecast value topping US$14 billion over the next 10 years.

The companies say the joint venture will use innovative technologies to reduce the time until plant sites can be released for unrestricted use.