Russia’s nuclear power company Rosatom gained’t be invited for a safety evaluation as a bidder vying to renovate the Dukovany nuclear energy plant, the Czech business minister mentioned, amid the diplomatic spat initiated by Prague.
The Czech authorities has authorized a decision successfully excluding the Russian firm from the $ 7-billion mission, the nation’s business and commerce minister Karel Havlicek confirmed on Monday.
The development mission’s investor, the bulk state-controlled Czech utility firm CEZ, will now solely ship a safety evaluation questionnaire to the remaining three contenders by April 30. The businesses vetted by Prague embody France’s EDF, South Korean Hydro & Nuclear Energy in addition to the American-Canadian agency Westinghouse.
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“We make it clear that that is an evaluation of three eligible suppliers of nuclear know-how,” Havlicek informed the Czech media, including that suppliers of vital applied sciences and supplies can solely be “an entity from a European Union or a NATO nation,” which means that Rosatom couldn’t enter the mission in collaboration with one other firm or as a subcontractor.
The choice was taken amid an ongoing diplomatic row between Prague and Moscow that adopted the Czech authorities’s choice to expel 18 Russian diplomats on Saturday. Prague claims Russian intelligence officers have been concerned in an incident at a munitions depot within the village of Vrbetice, some 330 kilometers southeast of Prague, again in 2014.
The depot was rocked by a collection of explosions that killed two staff of a non-public firm renting the ability from the navy. The Czech authorities mentioned that the embassy workers may also have had a task within the incident, whereas Moscow denounced all of the accusations as absurd. Russia additionally expelled 20 Czech diplomats in a reciprocal measure.
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“I am unable to think about being contacted by Rosatom as a part of a safety evaluation after the final incidents,” Havlicek mentioned earlier on Monday. He added that “none of… the candidates” would cross the evaluation with “a provider from Rosatom.”
Beforehand, Prague already barred China’s Common Nuclear from collaborating in pre-tender actions. Russia, nonetheless, was referred to as a “key power associate” by Havlicek solely in March. Some media stories recommended that NATO and EU safety companies, in addition to Washington, repeatedly referred to as on the Czech authorities to drop Russia’s bid, citing safety points.
Launched in 1985, the Dukovany nuclear energy plant covers round a fifth of the electrical energy consumption within the Czech Republic. Beneath the refurbishment mission, estimated to value greater than seven billion , the plant will obtain a brand new 1,200 megawatt-strong energy unit.
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