South Korean power giant KHNP has won a multi-billion-dollar tender to build two nuclear units at the Dukovany power plant in the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced on Wednesday.
KHNP triumphed over France’s EDF in the tender launched in 2022 for one new reactor at the Soviet-built Dukovany plant. Subsequently, the Czech government sought bids for a total of four new units: two at Dukovany and two at Temelin.
“The Korean bid was better in all criteria assessed,” Fiala told reporters. The government has decided to proceed with building two units at Dukovany initially, with discussions for two additional units at Temelin to follow.
The price offered by KHNP surpassed expectations, coming in around 200 billion Czech koruna ($8.65 billion) per unit if two units are constructed. Czech companies are expected to handle approximately 60 percent of the construction work.
The government anticipates signing a deal with KHNP by next March, with construction commencing in 2029 and the first new reactor operational by 2036.
EDF had lobbied intensely for the contracts, with French President Emmanuel Macron visiting Prague in March to support its bid. CEZ currently operates six nuclear units at the two plants located in the south of the country.
Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela stated that the nuclear plants account for around 30 percent of Czech electricity output, a figure projected to rise to approximately 50 percent in the future. Sikela described nuclear energy as "the pride of Czech energy production."
Earlier, the Czech government excluded US giant Westinghouse from the tender due to flaws in its offer, and barred Russia’s Rosatom and China’s CGN over security concerns.
Source: energycentral.com