Prague: A Czech court has temporarily blocked the government from proceeding with a multibillion-dollar agreement with South Korea for the construction of two nuclear reactors, making it highly unlikely that an official contract will be concluded this week.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a South Korean consortium led by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) was 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, the regional court in Brno issued an injunction preventing CEZ from signing the estimated 26 trillion-won (US$18.6 billion) contract. This legal action comes as the court reviews a complaint filed by France's EDF, a losing bidder in the tender.
Last year, both EDF and U.S.-based Westinghouse filed complaints with the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (UOHS) regarding the government's selection process. In October, 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, this deal would be South Korea's first overseas nuclear power plant project since 2009, when KHNP secured the contract for the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates.
KHNP has stated that it is currently in discussions with the project's ordering party in response to the court's decision.