South Korea on Monday announced an emergency management system to prevent delays to its $17.5 billion nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic after contract negotiations with a domestic construction consortium broke down, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said the government would introduce measures to ensure the Dukovany nuclear power project remained on schedule and prevent similar contractual setbacks.
The announcement came after Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) last week terminated negotiations with a consortium comprising Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Doosan Enerbility following a failure to reach an agreement on key contractual terms.
The ministry was scheduled to hold its first emergency meeting on Monday to discuss follow-up measures and address potential disruptions to the project.
KHNP, South Korea’s state-run nuclear power operator, will initiate a fresh tender process to select a construction contractor, with plans to finalise an agreement by July 2027.
Construction of the nuclear power plant is scheduled to begin in November 2027.
“The minister and vice minister will personally review key project issues every week and take necessary measures for the time being,” Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said.
The project, valued at 25 trillion won ($17.5bn), involves the construction of two 1,000-megawatt APR1000 nuclear reactors at Dukovany in the Czech Republic.
A KHNP-led South Korean consortium secured the project last year and subsequently began negotiations with the Daewoo-Doosan consortium, which had been designated to undertake construction work.
