The talks collapsed over differences on key contract terms, KHNP said in an explanatory note.
"KHNP and the contractor have made efforts to reach an amicable agreement through working-level talks, a dispute coordination committee and management-level negotiations, but failed to reach a final deal," it said.
KHNP has begun steps to end its joint cooperation agreement with the consortium and is preparing a tender to pick a new builder.
The company will handle essential work on its own until a replacement is named, to keep disruption to a minimum, it added.
The project calls for two 1,000-megawatt APR1000 reactors, a Korean design, at the Dukovany site. KHNP signed the main contract, worth about 407 billion koruna ($18.6 billion), with EDU II, a unit of majority state-owned Czech utility CEZ, on June 4, 2025.
The deal was South Korea's first nuclear plant export since the 2009 contract for the UAE's Barakah plant.
KHNP had promised to deliver it as a full package with its "Team Korea" partners: KEPCO Engineering & Construction, Doosan Enerbility, Daewoo E&C, KEPCO Nuclear Fuel and KEPCO KPS.
KHNP has already signed the design contract with KEPCO E&C and the main equipment contract with Doosan Enerbility.
It said it would work with the Korean government, the Czech client and its partners to keep the project on its original timeline. The first unit is due to be completed in 2036.
AJP Takeaways
- Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power ended construction contract talks with the Daewoo E&C-Doosan Enerbility consortium for the Dukovany nuclear project in the Czech Republic on Oct. 29, 2026. It cited disagreements over key contract terms.
- KHNP signed the main contract for two APR1000 reactors, worth about 407 billion koruna ($18.6 billion), with CEZ subsidiary EDU II on June 4, 2025. It was South Korea's first nuclear plant export since the Barakah deal in the UAE in 2009.
- KHNP has started ending its joint cooperation agreement with the consortium and is preparing a tender for a new builder. The first new Dukovany unit is scheduled for completion in 2036.
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