For a long time, there was speculation as to who would win the major contract to build new nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic. Now the government has made a decision. A European nuclear giant will be left empty-handed.
The billion-euro contract for the construction of new nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic goes to South Korea. The KHNP group emerged as the winner of the tender, said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala after a cabinet meeting in Prague. The South Koreans’ offer was the better one according to practically all of the criteria evaluated. In addition to KHNP (Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power), the French nuclear giant EDF also applied for the major contract.
The decision was made to initially build two reactor blocks at the Dukovany site, explained the liberal conservative Fiala. The costs per reactor are said to be the equivalent of around 7.9 billion euros. This is a “responsible and courageous step” that is important for the country’s prosperity, said the head of government. Construction is expected to begin in 2029.
Czech Republic relies entirely on nuclear energy
Fiala spoke of an enormous opportunity for the domestic industry, which will be involved in more than half of the construction project. The Czech Republic can contribute its unique know-how in nuclear energy. The government also decided to negotiate an option for the construction of two additional blocks at the Temelin site in southern Bohemia.
The Czech Republic wants to increase the share of nuclear power in the electricity mix from the current one-third to more than half by 2040. Czech, German and Austrian opponents of nuclear power have long criticized the plans. The Temelin nuclear power plant, which currently has two pressurized water reactors of the WWER 1000/320 type, is less than 60 kilometers from the borders with Bavaria and Lower Austria. Dukovany, which has four old Soviet-built WWER-440/213 reactors, is just under 100 kilometers from Vienna.
Source: Stern
