PRAGUE, May 6 (Yonhap/APP): A Czech court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the government in Prague from signing a multibillion-dollar agreement with South Korea for the construction of two nuclear reactors, according to multiple reports, making it highly unlikely that an official contract will be concluded this week.
A South Korean consortium led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) had been scheduled to finalize the deal on Wednesday with Czech state-run energy company Elektrarna Dukovany II (EDU II), a subsidiary of the country’s main electricity firm, CEZ.
However, according to multiple Czech media reports, the regional court in Brno issued an injunction preventing CEZ from signing the estimated 26 trillion-won (US$18.6 billion) contract until it reviews a legal complaint filed by France’s EDF, a losing bidder in the tender.
Last year, both EDF and another bidder, U.S.-based Westinghouse, filed complaints with the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (UOHS) over the government’s selection process. In October, however, the UOHS rejected their appeals, prompting EDF to escalate the case to the court.
In July 2024, CEZ selected KHNP to construct two 1,000-megawatt reactors as part of the expansion of its Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant, located about 200 kilometers south of Prague.
If finalized, the deal would mark South Korea’s first overseas nuclear power plant project since 2009, when KHNP won the contract to build the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates.
KHNP said it is currently in discussions with the project’s ordering party regarding the court’s decision.