Daewoo Engineering announced that it is requesting mediation from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to expedite the normalization of the Czech nuclear power plant construction project.
In a statement on November 2, Daewoo Engineering said it received a notice from Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), the primary contractor for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the Czech nuclear project, regarding the termination of contract negotiations on October 30. The company expressed serious regret over the unilateral termination of the negotiation process.
Previously, KHNP announced on October 29 that it was ending negotiations with the Daewoo Engineering and Doosan Enerbility consortium regarding the construction contract for the Czech nuclear power plant. According to a document released by Daewoo Engineering, KHNP determined that there were significant disagreements after rejecting the consortium's revised proposal, which sought to reflect increased construction volume and additional work in the existing contract amount.
Daewoo Engineering criticized the situation, stating, "It is unreasonable for a contractor that is not responsible for design to bear the increased construction volume and additional work that arose after the bidding without adjusting the construction costs." The company also pointed out that the contractor should not be solely responsible for the project risks associated with the APR1000, the first of its kind being built in Europe.
Furthermore, Daewoo Engineering claimed it submitted a revised proposal on October 29 that included a reduction in the total construction cost and acceptance of some of the increased volume, incurring losses in the billions of won. They stated that they learned of KHNP's unilateral declaration of termination through media reports just 30 minutes after submitting the proposal.
Daewoo Engineering explained that it had already invested hundreds of millions of won in personnel and resources in both the Czech Republic and South Korea before the contract was finalized. The company warned that if the bidding for a new contractor fails, it could delay the entire project schedule and undermine the core competitiveness of their nuclear power plant. They urged the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to review the previous negotiation process and mediate for a renegotiation.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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