
Source: AFP
A Czech tribunal said Tuesday it blocked a multi-billion-dollar woody betwixt Prague and South Korea's KHNP connected the operation of 2 atomic units pursuing a ailment by France's EDF.
KHNP won the declaration past July aft beating EDF successful the tender, but the French elephantine filed an entreaty with the Czech antitrust watchdog UOHS.
When the UOHS rejected the entreaty past week, EDF filed a lawsuit.
The determination tribunal successful the 2nd Czech metropolis of Brno said it had "issued a pre-emptive ruling banning the signature" primitively scheduled for Wednesday.
It added that if the woody were signed, EDF would suffer a accidental to vie for the declaration for bully adjacent if the tribunal ruled successful its favour aboriginal on.
The woody cannot beryllium signed until the tribunal passes a verdict connected the case.
KHNP is owed to physique the 2 units astatine the confederate Czech atomic works of Dukovany tally by the state-run CEZ group.
The Czech Republic, an EU subordinate of 10.9 cardinal people, relies connected atomic powerfulness -- produced by Dukovany and the Temelin works besides successful the southbound -- for 40 percent of its energy consumption.
With the 2 caller units and tiny modular reactors owed to beryllium built by 2050, the stock of atomic energy is expected to emergence to 50 percent arsenic the state shifts from burning fossil fuels.
EDF hailed the postponement, saying it "provides the indispensable clip for a thorough appraisal of immoderate imaginable infringement of its rights".
It besides told AFP it was acceptable for "all ineligible actions".
EDF said earlier its entreaty was designed to marque definite the enactment process was just and transparent.
It besides insists it can connection 60 percent of the worth of the declaration to Czech companies, portion the stock offered by KHNP is lower.
The Czech quality bureau CTK quoted KHNP arsenic saying it acknowledged the postponement but was definite the tender was correct, and that it was acceptable to spell to tribunal too.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said aft the tender that KHNP's bid was "better successful each criteria assessed".
CEZ insisted connected Tuesday that the tender was "fully transparent successful each phases" and called connected EDF to marque its bid nationalist to "rule retired immoderate doubt" that KHNP's bid was better.
The UOHS besides earlier rejected an entreaty by US-based Westinghouse, eliminated from the tender successful January 2024 implicit flaws successful its bid.
KHNP has offered to physique the 2 caller units for astir 200 cardinal Czech koruna ($9 billion) each.
Prague expected to finalise the woody with KHNP by March this year, but the EDF entreaty delayed the process.
CEZ expects operation to statesman successful 2029 and the archetypal caller reactor launched successful proceedings cognition successful 2036.
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Source: AFP