Resurrection Signal Flare K-Wonjeon... Momentum Builds in Czech Republic Bid Battle

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Lim Jeong-mook, Head of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Cairo Branch (right), and Anatoly Kovternav, Head of ASE JSC Cairo Branch, are signing the contract for the secondary side construction project of the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant in Egypt on the 25th (local time).

Our government has successfully secured a 3 trillion won-scale nuclear power plant construction project in El Dabaa, Egypt, and this is expected to give momentum to the Czech nuclear power plant project, where the operator selection is imminent. With this order, we have once again proven our technological capabilities and price competitiveness to the world, and we aim to use the Czech project as a foothold for exporting nuclear power plants to Europe in the future.

According to related ministries on the 26th, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) will submit a bid for the new Dukovany nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic by November. KHNP had previously expressed its intention to participate in the main bid to the Czech government in March. The Czech Republic is planning to build one 1000 MW-class nuclear power plant in the central region of Dukovany. The project is worth about 8 trillion won. The priority negotiation candidate will be selected in 2024, the main contract will be finalized in the same year, and construction is scheduled to begin in 2029. Once the bid submission is completed, the ‘nuclear power plant sales’ among countries will officially begin until the priority negotiation candidate is selected.

The Czech nuclear power plant bidding is likely to be a three-way competition among KHNP, the U.S. Westinghouse, and the French Electricit? de France (EDF). In particular, if this contract is successful, it could secure a favorable position in the bidding for three additional new nuclear power plants that the Czech government is reviewing, making the competition even more intense.

The strengths of Korea’s nuclear power plant business are construction know-how and price competitiveness. The excellence was proven worldwide by winning the bid for the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), built in a desert area in 2009. The construction cost is also an advantage at $3,571 per kilowatt (kW). Compared to major competitors such as China ($4,174), the U.S. ($5,833), Russia ($6,250), and France ($7,931), the price is more than half cheaper. However, France has the advantage of strengthening the energy supply network within the European Union (EU), and the U.S. is expected to provide diplomatic support through NATO, so tensions cannot be overlooked.

Following the Czech Republic, the planned new nuclear power plant construction in Poland is also one of the key projects to achieve the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s goal of exporting 10 nuclear power plants by 2030. The Poland Lubiat?w-Kopalino nuclear power plant project is a large-scale project investing a total of 40 trillion won to build up to six nuclear power plants with a capacity of 9,000 MW by 2033. The main bidding will start next year, with the first unit’s construction planned to begin in 2026. Previously, the Polish government proposed nuclear power plant projects to three countries: Korea, the U.S., and France, and KHNP submitted a business proposal to Poland’s Ministry of Climate and Environment, the main department in charge of the nuclear power plant project, in April this year. It is especially expected to be the first project of the Korea-U.S. nuclear power alliance established at the May Korea-U.S. summit.

Saudi Arabia’s nuclear power plant project is also noteworthy. Saudi Arabia is pushing to build two 1,400 MW nuclear power plants by 2030. However, Saudi Arabia refuses inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) citing concerns over Iran’s nuclear development, so the project will proceed through close consultations with the U.S. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang said, “We will concentrate all our capabilities to strongly support nuclear power plant exports so that they can create new national wealth and grow into a growth industry.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.