South Korea's KHNP to file its own appeal against court injunction over Czech Dukovany project

South Korean company KHNP will file its own cassation appeal against the court injunction that blocked the signing of the final agreement to build nuclear units at Dukovany. It wants to protect itself against any losses the company may incur. It plans to do so in the coming days. This follows a statement the Korean company made to the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today. Elektrárna Dukovany II (EDU II), which is responsible for the entire nuclear tender, is also preparing to file a cassation appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC).

The signing of the final agreement with KHNP was originally scheduled for 7 May, but the Regional Court in Brno blocked it with an interim injunction the day before. It did so at the request of French company EDF, which filed a lawsuit challenging a decision by the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS). The office had ruled that the tender was in order. The court has not yet ruled on EDF's lawsuit.

"We believe the current situation could cause significant damage to Czech national interests as well as to KHNP, the preferred bidder. KHNP therefore plans to file its own cassation appeal in the coming days to protect itself against such damage," the Korean company said.

The company also welcomed EDU II's plans to take the same step.

KHNP today reiterated its firm belief that the tender for completing the Dukovany project was transparent and in compliance with the law. "We consider attempts to challenge the outcome through legal manoeuvres unfortunate, and believe they represent a direct attack on the principles of fair competition," the company said. It added that it hoped the court would rule quickly.

The government decided to build two new nuclear reactors last July. It chose the bid from South Korea's KHNP over that of France's EDF. Another bidder, Westinghouse, had already been disqualified from the tender. Both EDF and Westinghouse challenged the tender with the antitrust authority, which examined the case for several months. It ultimately rejected their objections, and its chairman, Petr Mlsna, also dismissed the companies' appeals on 24 April.