ČEZ CEO Beneš: Signing of final contracts for Dukovany in Czechia likely to be delayed

The signing of final contracts between ČEZ and KHNP for the construction of new nuclear units at Dukovany is likely to be delayed compared with the original plans. The reason is that the companies are waiting for a decision from the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS); they also still need to resolve the Czech industry’s involvement in the project. ČEZ CEO Daniel Beneš said this at a press conference today on the partly state-owned company’s full-year results. The agreements were originally due to be concluded by the end of March.

South Korean company KHNP won last year’s Czech nuclear tender, with the government preferring its bid over those of EDF and Westinghouse. The first unit at Dukovany is due to be completed in 2036. ČEZ Group, which is in charge of the tender, is now negotiating the project’s final contracts with KHNP.

According to Beneš, the final contracts are now expected to be concluded in the first half of this year. He said the contracts are almost ready and could technically be signed on the originally planned date. One is to cover construction of the power plant, and the other the supply of nuclear fuel. The agreements are currently being held up by a measure from the ÚOHS, which has prohibited their signing until it rules on objections from unsuccessful bidders in the tender. It is currently considering EDF’s objections.

„Following the filing of an appeal, EDF’s objections are being handled by ÚOHS Chairman Petr Mlsna. No decision has been issued yet,“ ÚOHS spokesperson Martin Švanda told ČTK today.

Beneš said that some details also still need to be ironed out in talks with KHNP, and that the Czech government is discussing them with the South Koreans as well. These include the involvement of Czech industry. KHNP has previously pledged that Czech companies would participate in up to 60 percent of the project.

„It could be signed at the end of March, but common sense says to wait until April or May,“ Beneš noted.

The construction of new nuclear units in Czechia is expected to be the largest contract in the country’s history. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred plan to build two reactors at Dukovany is 400 billion crowns. Over the next three to five years, ČEZ is also expected, under a government decision, to negotiate with the South Koreans an option to build two more units at Temelín.