Seoul: Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun stated on Wednesday that a Czech court's recent decision to temporarily halt a multibillion-dollar nuclear power plant contract involving South Korea will only delay the formal signing of the deal, while other processes will carry on as planned.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the regional court in Brno issued an injunction on Tuesday that prevents the country's main electricity firm, CEZ, from signing the approximately 26 trillion-won (US$18.6 billion) agreement with a South Korean consortium led by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP). The injunction is pending a review of a legal complaint filed by France's EDF, a losing bidder in the tender.
Minister Ahn noted that while the formal contract signing is postponed due to the court's ruling, other procedures remain on schedule. KHNP had been set to finalize the agreement on Wednesday with Elektrarna Dukovany II (EDU II), a CEZ subsidiary. The South Korean consortium was declared the final winner last week, nearly nine months after being chosen as the preferred bidder to construct two 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactors at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant, located approximately 200 kilometers south of Prague. This deal represents the largest public procurement project in Czech history.
"The Czech government did not consider this a significant hurdle and extended the invitation for signing based on that assessment," Ahn remarked. "The court's perspective seems to differ from that of the government." He emphasized that there couldn't have been any issues with the selection process, highlighting the Czech Republic's efforts to maintain fairness, objectivity, and transparency during what was a competitive race between KHNP, EDF, and Westinghouse.
CEZ is currently exploring legal options and is anticipated to file an appeal, with more information expected later in the day. If the project proceeds, it will mark South Korea's first overseas nuclear plant contract since 2009, when a KHNP-led consortium secured a deal to construct the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates.
Minister Ahn also affirmed that most elements of the South Korean delegation's visit to the Czech Republic will continue as planned. The Czech Republic aims to decrease its dependence on fossil fuels and elevate its nuclear energy usage, which presently supplies around 40 percent of the national power. Prague plans to boost this percentage to over 50 percent in the forthcoming years.
The two new reactors will be constructed alongside the four existing 510-megawatt units at the Dukovany nuclear power station, operational since the 1980s. The first new reactor is projected to start trial operations in 2036, with the second following approximately two years later.