Stanjura expects contract for new units at Czech Dukovany plant to be signed by quarter-end

The contract with South Korea’s KHNP to build two new units at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant will be signed this quarter. Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) told reporters today at the presentation of the macroeconomic forecast. Formal talks with the European Commission on how to finance the construction will begin after the contract is signed, he said, while informal consultations are already taking place.

Under the original plans, the contracts were to be concluded by the end of March. The semi-state energy company ČEZ, which will invest in the project, had previously acknowledged that the signing would be delayed. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said at the end of March that he expected the contract to be signed in the coming weeks.

Construction of new nuclear units in Czechia is expected to be the largest domestic project to date. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred option of building two reactors at Dukovany is 400 billion koruna. The first unit is expected to be completed in 2036.