Two nuclear units at Dukovany to be built by Korea's KHNP

Prague, July 17 (CTK) - Two new nuclear units at the Dukovany power plant in southern Moravia will be built by the Korean company KHNP and the price per reactor for the construction of two units is Kc200bn at current prices, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said at today's press conference after a cabinet meeting.

Two reactors will be built so far, but the government will still negotiate with the winner for an option to build two more units at Temelin, southern Bohemia, Fiala said. The cabinet gave the Korean company preference over the French firm EDF.

Construction of the first reactor is expected to start in 2029 and it should go into trial operation in 2036.

The government decided to follow the recommendations of semi-state energy group CEZ, which analysed the bids in the spring, Fiala said. "The Korean offer was better in virtually all the criteria evaluated," he said.

The cabinet decided today to build two reactors at Dukovany for the time being, because the bid showed that it would be more profitable to build two units at the same location, according to Fiala. However, CEZ, which is in charge of the tender, will also negotiate with the winning contractor over the next three to five years about an option for two more reactors at Temelin.

Under the preferred option of building two reactors, the construction of one unit should cost approximately Kc200bn, Fiala said. This is a cost calculation at current prices, so the contract may become more expensive in the future. In 2020, the government had estimated one reactor would cost Kc160bn at the prices valid at the time. Inflation and other factors have caused the increase to the current price, according to the government.

The offered price for the construction will ensure competitive electricity prices in the future, said the government. According to Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela (Mayors and Independents, STAN), the price should be up to EUR90 (Kc2,277) per megawatt-hour (MWh). However, the government still wants to negotiate the final price with the supplier.

In their offer, the Koreans declared the involvement of the Czech industry in the project at the level of approximately 60 percent, said Fiala. According to him, the invested money will have a high multiplier effect for the domestic economy. Previous analyses show that every crown invested should yield more than three times the return.

The Czech Republic currently has six nuclear units in two power plants. Two units, each with a capacity of about 1,000 megawatts (MW), are in Temelin. Four smaller units with a capacity of 510 MW each are in Dukovany. In addition to new conventional reactors, CEZ is also preparing to build small modular reactors. The first of them should be built in Temelin.

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