Czechia secures 20 pct production for Dukovany nuke plant expansion

Prague, March 10 (CTK) - Czechia has already secured at least 20 percent of the production for the expansion of the Dukovany nuclear power plant, Industry and Trade Lukas Vlcek said in the "Week in Politics" on Czech Television on Saturday.

The nuclear tender for the construction of two nuclear units at Dukovany, southern Moravia, was won by South Korea's KHNP, with contracts expected to be ready for signing at the end of March. The Czech Republic is trying to negotiate a 60 percent involvement of Czech industry, and before the signing the EPC contract (a turnkey technology contract from design through production, installation, commissioning and subsequent maintenance) it wants to have assurances from the Korean side that Czech suppliers will be involved in at least 30 percent of the contract, Vlcek said, confirming previous information.

"If I go back to the results of our negotiations in recent weeks, today we already have very relevant information that KHNP should manufacture the entire turbine hall, including technology, in the Czech Republic. That alone is roughly 20 percent of the involvement," Vlcek told CT.

Vlcek also confirmed that the contract with KHNP should be concluded by the end of March. At the end of February, KHNP representatives said at the Czech-Korean Nuclear Industry Conference in Prague that the company continues to count on 60 percent participation of Czech suppliers in the construction of new nuclear units at Dukovany. Czech companies should reach this share by 2039, when the two reactors under construction at Dukovany should be completed. In recent weeks, Czech industry representatives have expressed concern about reaching this target because there are no binding cooperation agreements yet.

Since the moment KHNP was selected, it has been trying to prepare proposals for localisation of suppliers according to the requirements of the Czech government and regions, said KHNP president Whang Joo-ho in February. According to him, it has already been practically decided that the supplier of the turbine for the Dukovany unit should be Doosan Skoda Power based in Plzen, western Bohemia. At the same time, he also admitted the possibility that the company would provide the entire turbine hall.

KHNP succeeded in the Czech nuclear tender last year, when the government preferred its bid to French firm EDF and US firm Westinghouse. The first unit at Dukovany should be ready in 2036. Czech semi-state energy group CEZ, which is in charge of the tender, is now negotiating the final draft of the contract with KHNP.

Vlcek discussed the involvement of Czech companies in the construction of the reactors in South Korea last month.

The construction of new nuclear units in the Czech Republic should be the largest domestic order in history. The cost of the currently preferred construction of two reactors at Dukovany is Kc400bn at current prices. In the next three to five years, however, CEZ should also negotiate with the Koreans an option for the construction of two more units at the Temelin nuclear power plant, southern Bohemia, according to the government's decision.

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