Report: French, Korean companies lead in Lithuania nuke plant bid

Nov 16, 2010, 15:02 GMT

Vilnius - French energy company Electricite de France (EDF) and South Korean utility Korea Electric Power Corporation are the two leading contenders in the bid to construct a new nuclear power plant in Lithuania, the Verslo Zinios daily reported Tuesday.

The business newspaper cited unnamed government sources in reporting that the French and South Korean companies were the front-runners in the competition to complete the 5-billion-euro (6 billion dollars) project. There are three other unnamed rivals in the contest.

In the past, Germany's E.On and RWE have been mentioned as possible contenders for the contract, but the secretive nature of the ongoing tendering process means no official confirmation of the companies participating has been available.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said he would 'neither confirm nor deny' the information.

Lithuania's Energy Ministry has said its choice of a single 'strategic investor' will be made by the end of the year.

The new plant is to replace the Ignalina facility, which was shut down at the end of 2009 amid fears that its Chernobyl-type reactors were unsafe.

The plant would serve the whole region in partnership with Estonia, Latvia and Poland. The ultimate price tag depends on the number and type of reactors chosen.

The new facility would reduce the Baltic states' reliance on Russian energy supplies, though the project has been delayed by years and no binding agreements have been signed by any of the countries involved.

Russia has announced plans to build its own Baltic nuclear power plant in the Kaliningrad enclave between Poland and Lithuania, and Belarus also has a proposal for another nuclear power station near the Lithuanian border.

DnB Nord bank economist Rimantas Rudzikis told journalists Tuesday the rationale behind the Lithuanian project was questionable.

'As a small country, having such grandiose plans for this project is extremely risky. We have enough alternative energy sources,' Rudzikis said.

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