Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Submits Final Bid for New Nuclear Power Plant Project in Czech Republic

Nam Yo-sik, Head of Growth Business Division at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (4th from the left), and officials are taking a group commemorative photo with Petr Z?vodsk?, Director of Nuclear Power Plant Construction (5th from the left), and officials from the Czech Power Company.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) visited the Czech Electricity Company (CEZ), the ordering company for the new nuclear power plant construction project in the Czech Republic, on the 28th local time and submitted the final bid for the new nuclear power plant project.

Nam Yo-sik, Head of KHNP's Growth Business Division, met with Petr Zavodsky, Director of Nuclear Power Plant Construction at CEZ and President of Dukovany New Nuclear Power Plant Ordering Company (EDUⅡ), to personally deliver the bid and emphasized that KHNP is the optimal partner for the Czech new nuclear power plant project.

While delivering the bid, Head Nam explained the safety, excellence, and economic feasibility of the Korean-type nuclear power plant, KHNP's project management capabilities, differentiated technology compared to competitors, and localization efforts such as cooperation with local companies, and conveyed the Korean government's full support.

Before submitting the bid, he also visited the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade, the government department in charge of the Czech new nuclear power plant construction project, and met with Deputy Minister Tomas Ehler to express his intention to participate in the project.

The Czech government and Czech Electricity Company issued the final bid invitation in March to suppliers from three countries: Korea, the United States, and France.

The Czech Republic plans to construct one pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant with a capacity of less than 1200 MW in the Dukovany area.

After bid evaluation and contract negotiations, the preferred bidder and final operator will be selected by 2024, followed by design and licensing acquisition processes. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2029 with commercial operation targeted for 2036. The construction of up to three additional new nuclear power plants is also under consideration.

Since the Czech government initiated the Dukovany new nuclear power plant construction project, KHNP has actively conducted extensive bidding activities over the past six years, engaging with key Czech government officials, industry, academia, local governments in the construction area, and local residents.

In particular, even before the bidding began, KHNP formed a dedicated team for bid preparation and started drafting the bid based on the preliminary bid invitation received from the ordering company in July last year, completing a competitive bid in about one year and four months.

The APR1000 reactor type proposed by KHNP for the Czech new nuclear power plant project meets all technical requirements requested by the Czech side and includes the most advanced safety designs such as double containment building systems, large commercial aircraft crash defense design, enhanced safety measures following the Fukushima accident, and cybersecurity.

Hwang Ju-ho, President of KHNP, said, “According to the ordering company's requirements, we need to submit a revised bid around September next year,” and added, “We will do our best in the upcoming bidding schedule to be selected as the final operator.”