The cabinet announced plans to expand the Dukovany tender to four nuclear reactors instead of one (Radio Prague).

"During the tender, which included non-binding options, it was shown that construction of more units, that is up to four reactors in one package, over a period of time would be significantly more advantageous than we expected, with the cost up to 25% lower per reactor," the government said. On the basis of the new bids, the government will decide how many reactors will be built, it added.

Minister for Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela added that construction of more reactors could be expected to "optimize" the construction process and also offer the chance of a greater share of the overall work and contracts being placed with Czech companies.

The Czech government announced Jan. 31 that it had excluded Westinghouse from the ongoing tender to build one nuclear power reactor of up to 1,200 MW, with options for a further three units, at power company CEZ's Dukovany site.

The government also announced it is amending the ongoing tender with the remaining bidders, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Electricite de France (EDF). KHNP and EDF will now be asked to make firm bids by mid-April for up to four new reactors in total to be built at CEZ's Dukovany and Temelin plant sites, the government said. CEZ will send its evaluation of the tenders to the government by the end of May (S&P Global).

Source: Radio Prague and S&P Global