Czech Court Lifts Injunction Banning KHNP Nuclear Power Plant Contract

A Czech court has overturned an injunction that had prohibited Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and the Czech Dukovany new nuclear power plant operator from signing a final contract.

According to major foreign news outlets, on June 4 (local time), the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic issued a ruling canceling the injunction previously imposed by the Brno District Court last month.

KHNP and Dukovany II Nuclear Power Plant (EDU II), a subsidiary of the Czech state power company CEZ and the project operator, had originally planned to sign the final contract on May 7. However, the Brno District Court accepted an injunction request from a competitor, Electricite de France (EDF), just one day before the signing ceremony, resulting in the cancellation of the event.

The operator and KHNP appealed, arguing that the court had issued the injunction without hearing from other parties and that the contract delay jeopardized the overall schedule of the new nuclear power plant construction project.

Meanwhile, EDF, which was eliminated from the bidding process, has also filed a complaint not only with the Czech courts but also with the European Union (EU), alleging that KHNP violated the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR).