Korea, France and the U.S. Likely to Compete for Polish Nuclear Power Plant Project

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy had a meeting with the government of Poland on Nov. 5 (local time) and discussed South Korea’s participation in Poland’s nuclear power plant construction project.

The consortium of South Korea, including the Export-Import Bank of Korea, the Korea Trade Insurance Corp., Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and Daewoo Engineering & Construction, is planning to submit its proposal by the first quarter of 2022. The proposal is expected to include technology transfer and engineer training, which the Polish government is particularly interested in.

At present, the Polish government is seeking a long-term strategic partnership in the project, asking foreign participants to provide 49 percent of the required financial resources. In this regard, KHNP is working on specific measures with the Export-Import Bank of Korea and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation.

At the meeting, KHNP signed an MOU regarding technological localization with the electric power industry association of Poland. In addition, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and Daewoo Engineering & Construction signed MOUs concerning equipment supply, cooperation for construction, etc. The consortium is planning to work with at least 70 local engineering, machinery, construction and energy companies in the project.

The Polish government is planning to put the first nuclear power plant in Poland into operation in 2033 and increase the number to at least six by 2043. The power generation capacity of the first plant is estimated at 1.6 GW and the total capacity of the six is estimated at 9 GW.

EDF and Westinghouse Electric Company already expressed their intentions to participate in the project. The French company recently said that it can build and run four to six plants in a couple of regions in Poland and the U.S. company is working with Bechtel in order to take part in the project with AP1000 reactors. The total cost of the project is estimated at 65 trillion won.