[Anchor’s Commentary]
In July, the Czech government announced plans to construct additional nuclear power plants worth 24 trillion won, selecting Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power as the preferred bidder.
French and American companies, which lost out in the three-way competition, raised objections, but the Czech authorities dismissed them.
This is seen as a green light for the main contract in March next year.
This is reporter Ahn Byeong-su.
[Reporter]
The construction project for the new Dukovany nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic was a three-way competition between South Korea, France, and the United States.
After fierce competition, in July, the Czech Republic chose Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power as the preferred bidder.
▶ Interview: President Yoon Suk-yeol
– “I sincerely thank the Prime Minister and the Czech people for selecting Team Korea as the preferred bidder for the Dukovany nuclear power plant project, the largest national project in Czech history.”
There were expectations that the export path for our nuclear industry would widen, but protests from competing countries temporarily stalled progress.
This was because France’s EDF and the US’s Westinghouse, which lost the bid competition, filed complaints about the procedures.
However, the Czech Anti-Monopoly Office did not accept their objections.
The office determined that claims of illegal bidding procedures were submitted past the objection deadline, and it ruled that competitors did not have the right to challenge Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s ability to fulfill the contract.
Other claims, such as violations of subsidy regulations, were also dismissed.
Following this first-instance outcome, negotiations between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and the Czech Power Company are expected to gain momentum.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power both assessed that much of the uncertainty surrounding the nuclear power export contract has been eliminated.
They also emphasized that if the final decision is made in early January next year, there should be no major issues in proceeding with the main contract in March.
This is MBN News, Ahn Byeong-su.
Video Editing: Lee Yu-jin
Graphics: Kim Su-bin