A joint venture led by Northrop Grumman Corp. on Wednesday was awarded a 5-year, $2.5 billion contract to manage and operate the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nevada Test Site.

L.A.-based Northrop is the managing partner of the joint venture, which also includes AECOM, CH2M Hill and NFS. Work on the contract will begin on April 1.

Under the agreement, 3,000 employees of the venture will manage, operate and provide infrastructure support at the facility near Las Vegas, as well as five other satellite and laboratory locations.

Work will include managing the department’s nuclear explosives safety team, which supports efforts to prevent or slow the spread of nuclear weapons, while bolstering its counterterrorism mission.

The contract will also support hazardous chemical spill testing, emergency response training and conventional weapons testing.

Shares of Northrop rose 1.1 percent to settle at $68.67 on Wednesday.