KHNP and ČEZ welcome clearance of Czech nuclear tender, EDF declines to comment for now

Representatives of ČEZ and South Korea’s KHNP, as well as the governments, welcomed today’s decision by the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), which dismissed an appeal against the tender for new nuclear units at Dukovany. They said the tender process had complied with all standards. They now want to finalise negotiations on the contract for Dukovany. France’s EDF, whose objections to the tender were rejected by the authority, did not wish to comment on the decision or any possible next steps for now.

Today, ÚOHS published its decision that the tender to build nuclear units at Dukovany and the selection of KHNP were in order. The tender proceedings have now concluded. ČEZ can therefore sign final construction contracts with the South Korean company, with the signing expected in the coming weeks.

„KHNP respects and welcomes ÚOHS’s final ruling on the objections filed by a competitor to the tender for the Czech nuclear project. According to our findings, bids for the Czech project to build a new nuclear power plant were evaluated on the basis of criteria set in advance by the Czech government and the project owner, resulting in the selection of the preferred bidder that best met the criteria,“ the South Korean company said.

The South Korean company said the government and ČEZ had conducted the tender transparently and in line with clear standards.

„As the preferred bidder, we will continue to make every effort to successfully conclude the contract and implement the project,“ KHNP added.

ČEZ, which is responsible for the tender as the investor, also welcomed ÚOHS’s decision. „We are convinced that from the very beginning, our selection of the preferred bidder complied with the applicable laws and the first implementing agreement concluded between the Czech Republic, ČEZ, a. s., and EDU II,“ ČEZ spokesperson Ladislav Kříž said.

According to Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček (STAN), today’s decision by the competition authority is good news for the continuation of the project to build new nuclear units at Dukovany. „It is in the interests of our energy security, Czech industry and efforts to reduce energy prices that we sign an EPC contract with KHNP as soon as possible,“ the minister said. An EPC contract is a turnkey contract covering design, manufacture, installation, commissioning and subsequent maintenance.

The government decided to build two new nuclear reactors last July. It preferred KHNP’s bid over EDF’s. The other bidder – the Canadian-American company Westinghouse – had already been excluded from the tender.

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