KHNP aims to secure a 30% share for Czech industry by signing the Dukovany contract

Korean company KHNP expects that, by the time the contract for the construction of new units at the Dukovany nuclear power plant is signed, a share of at least 30% of the project’s value for Czech industry will be contractually secured. KHNP representative Harry Chang said this in an interview broadcast today by Czech Television. He did not specify the exact date for signing the contract, but expects it to happen soon. He said the signing is currently being held up by a preliminary injunction issued by the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), which EDF, a French company, has challenged over the nuclear-unit tender.

Lukáš Vlček (STAN), the minister of industry and trade, discussed the involvement of Czech companies in building the new Dukovany reactors during a visit to South Korea in February. This week, he also recalled that during the visit he and KHNP agreed to achieve 30% participation by Czech industry in the project by the time the EPC contract is signed. “The requirement for 60% overall involvement by the end of the project still stands,” the minister said. An EPC contract is a turnkey technology contract covering everything from design and manufacturing to installation, commissioning and subsequent maintenance.

It is already certain that the turbine and its auxiliary equipment will be supplied by the Plzeň-based company Doosan Škoda Power. The company could also provide the entire turbine hall, Chang said. Talks are continuing on the involvement of Czech industry in other supplies for the new power plant units. Chang expects that, by the time the contract between KHNP and ČEZ is signed, a share of at least 30% for Czech companies will be secured either through direct contracts or agreements for future contracts.

Chang also told Czech Television that Czech companies will be able to take part in public tenders for subcontracting work on individual parts of the power plant.

According to earlier statements by Czech officials, building the two reactors at Dukovany should cost 400 billion koruna at current prices. Chang declined to comment further on this figure, saying it would not be appropriate before the contract is signed.

Chang expects the contract to be signed soon, but did not give a specific date. At the end of March, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said it would be a matter of weeks, while Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) said last week that he expected the contract to be signed by the end of the quarter. Vlček has also said it should happen in the coming weeks. Chang said the contract with ČEZ was prepared by the end of March and that both parties are now reviewing its text.

Chang also noted that the antitrust authority’s preliminary injunction is currently preventing the signing. However, he said he was confident the authority would reject EDF’s complaint at the second instance as well. In its complaint to the ÚOHS, the French company questioned whether KHNP was entitled to use the technology it had offered and also claimed that rules on foreign subsidies had been breached.

Last year, the government selected KHNP over EDF in the nuclear tender. It had already excluded the US company Westinghouse from the competition. The first unit at Dukovany is expected to be completed in 2036.