Vlček on Czech TV: Czech Republic has secured at least 20% of production for Dukovany expansion

According to Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček (STAN), the Czech Republic has already secured at least 20 percent of manufacturing for the expansion of the Dukovany nuclear power plant. Korea's KHNP, which won the tender, is expected to manufacture the turbine hall, including its technologies, in the country. Vlček said this on the Week in Politics programme broadcast by Czech Television today.

According to the minister, the Czech side is seeking to negotiate 60-percent involvement of Czech industry and, before signing the so-called EPC contract (a turnkey technology contract covering design, manufacturing, installation, commissioning and subsequent maintenance), wants assurances from the Korean side that Czech suppliers will be involved in at least 30 percent of the contract.

„If I return to the results of our negotiations in recent weeks, we now have very relevant information that KHNP, for example, should manufacture the entire turbine hall, including its technologies, in the Czech Republic. That alone represents roughly 20-percent involvement,“ Vlček said on Czech Television.

He also confirmed that the contract with KHNP should be concluded by the end of March. Representatives of KHNP said at the Czech-Korean nuclear industry conference in Prague at the end of February that the company still envisages 60-percent participation by Czech suppliers in the construction of new nuclear units at Dukovany. Czech companies should reach this share by 2039, when both planned reactors at Dukovany are due to be completed. Representatives of Czech industry have expressed concerns in recent weeks about achieving this goal, as binding cooperation agreements have not yet been concluded.

„Since KHNP was selected, we have been trying to prepare proposals for supplier localisation in line with the requirements of the Czech government and the regions,“ said Chu Ho-whang, president of the Korean company, in February.

According to him, it has already been virtually decided that Plzeň-based Doosan Škoda Power should supply the turbine for the Dukovany unit. At the same time, he also acknowledged the possibility that the company could provide the entire turbine hall. „We are now considering this very seriously,“ he said.

KHNP succeeded in the Czech nuclear tender last year, 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 final project contract with KHNP. Vlček discussed the involvement of Czech companies in reactor construction in South Korea last month.

The construction of new nuclear units in the Czech Republic is expected to be the largest domestic contract in history. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred construction of two reactors at Dukovany is CZK 400 billion. However, under a government decision, ČEZ is also expected to negotiate with the Koreans over the next three to five years on an option to build two additional units at Temelín.