SEOUL, October 01 (AJP) -U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday a sweeping package of South Korean-backed energy investments spanning a gas-fired power plant in Texas, eight large-scale nuclear reactors and the Alaska liquefied natural gas project.
Trump made the announcement at the White House alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Alaska officials, presenting the projects as the first major rollout of South Korea's investment pledge to the United States.
"This is a gigantic win for Alaska," he proclaimed during the announcement lives-streamed on Trump TV. The pipeline would bolster America's status as the world's largest LNG producer, he added.
The investments stem from a trade agreement under which South Korea pledged $350 billion in U.S. investment in return for Washington lowering tariffs on Korean goods from 25 percent to 15 percent. The package comprises $200 billion in strategic investments and another $150 billion earmarked for shipbuilding.
The framework was agreed by President Lee Jae Myung and Trump during their summit in Gyeongju last year, but implementation took months of negotiations over financing, project selection and commercial viability.
Seoul had so far formally selected only the $22.3 billion Encinal combined-cycle gas power project in Texas as the first investment under the $200 billion strategic investment program. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources reported the decision to the National Assembly last week.
The ministry identified construction of eight large-scale nuclear reactors in the United States and the Alaska LNG development as possible second and third projects, but both remained subject to further negotiations rather than finalized investments. A lawmaker briefed by the ministry said no details had yet been finalized for the Alaska project.
The White House announcement included the Alaska LNG development as part of the Korean investment package, although Seoul left it out as a committed project.
The Alaska project is expected to cost roughly $44.5 billion to $54.5 billion and centers on an approximately 800-mile pipeline carrying natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to a liquefaction and export terminal in southern Alaska. The project has been pursued for years but has faced persistent questions over financing and commercial viability.
Trump described the development as one of the world's largest natural gas projects and portrayed it as a long-awaited breakthrough for Alaska.
Trump did not specify how much would be allocated to each project. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, speaking after the president, provided the breakdown.
Lutnick said about $120 billion would go toward construction of the eight nuclear reactors, while roughly $22 billion would be invested in the Texas gas-fired power project. More than $50 billion would be directed to the Alaska LNG project, he said.
The eight large-scale nuclear reactors would be built in states including Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky, Lutnick said.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
