Czech Republic picks Korean consortium for $17 billion nuclear power plant project

The Czech Republic picked a Korean consortium led by the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to build the Dukovany reactors.

Sung Tae-yoon, director of national policy at the presidential office, speaks at a press briefing at the Yongsan presidential office in Seoul Wednesday evening. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The Czech Republic picked Korean companies as the preferred bidder to build two nuclear reactors in Dukovany, an estimated 24 trillion won ($17 billion) project that could serve as a catalyst for the country’s renewed drive to export nuclear power facilities.

The decision marks the first overseas nuclear power deal for local firms in some 15 years since securing a contract to build nuclear power reactors in Barakah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2009.

The Czech government convened a meeting on Wednesday to determine the builder of two units in Dukovany plus a binding option for up to two more.

A Korean consortium led by the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) competed with Electricite de France, or EDF, France’s state-run electricity corporation, and previously with Westinghouse Electric from the United States, but the European country excluded the U.S. firm in January, citing a failure to fulfill its requirement.

KHNP teamed up with Doosan Enerbility, the country’s sole provider of major nuclear power equipment, and local builder Daewoo E&C to submit a final bid for the tender in April, after the Czech Republic expanded the size of the contract from one reactor to up to four.

A view of the new Dukovany nuclear power plant site in the Czech Republic. [YONHAP]

Elektrárna Dukovany II, a subsidiary of Czech state utility CEZ, plans to build a 1,200-megawatt nuclear power plant in Dukovany. The construction of the new nuclear unit will begin in 2029, with the commissioning slated for 2036.

As for the other three plants, one will be located in the same municipality and the remaining two at CEZ's Temelin facility.

After news of the decision, Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday, “I am deeply grateful to our businesspeople, workers in the nuclear power plant field, government officials and the people who supported us with one mind and joined us as ‘Team Korea.’”

“Our business competitiveness has once again been recognized in the global market,” Sung Tae-yoon, director of national policy at the presidential office, said in a press briefing, expressing expectations for the final contract to be signed.

“This is a great achievement in 15 years since winning the order for the Barakah nuclear power plant, and we have established a bridge for exporting our nuclear power plants to Europe,” he added.

Industry insiders believe Korea’s experience building four nuclear plants in the UAE and relatively competitive pricing secured the win.

The country is looking to become a powerhouse in nuclear power plant exports, with the government planning to export 10 nuclear plants by 2030. The first export deal, the plant in the UAE, began operations earlier this year. Korea has yet to ink a second deal.

BY PARK EUN-JEE, SARAH KIM [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]