The Office for the Protection of Competition’s (UOHS) decision to turn down the appeal by Électricité de France (EDF) officially gives a green light for Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to finalize the estimated 18.2 billion dollar project. EDF and U.S. nuclear energy firm Westinghouse Electric Co., which were competitors in the bid along with KHNP, have raised concerns over violation of foreign subsidy regulation. On top of that EDF claims the procedure to select a preferred supplier has been tampered with and that the contracting authority has failed to comply with the basic principles of public procurement.

The antitrust authority UOHS rejected the objections and both companies filed an appeal to the chairman of the UOHS, Mlsna. In February this year, Westinghouse withdrew its objections and the complaint, as the Americans and the Korean company agreed to end their disputes.EDF, on the other hand, has continued with the proceedings and has recently extended its appeal against the original decision of the Office.

However, according to the UOHS the tender process and selection of KHNP were in order. All objections were therefore finally rejected by the chairman Mlsna. He has already informed the interested parties about this decision. In regard to this decision, the preliminary measure of the authority, which prohibited ČEZ from concluding the Dukovany contract with KHNP, was also cancelled. Both companies plan to sign the contract in the coming weeks.

Prepared by CzechTrade foreing office Seoul
Source: Forbes.cz