Three in tender for massive nuclear contract: report

Only three companies have made bids to build two new nuclear reactors at power company ČEZ’s existing Temelín facility with the option of a further three at other sites, according to the news server of the Czech daily Lidové noviny. The paper listed the three as US-based Westinghouse, France’s Areva and Russian state-controlled firm Atomstrojexport. Expectations had been that around a dozen companies would put in tenders for what the Czech media has described as the contract of the century which is worth an estimated 500 billion crowns or around 28 billion US dollars.

The contract has already stirred up a lot of lobbying and interest. Some Czech politicians have warned that handing such a big contract to a Russian firm would increase Czech dependency on Moscow. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Martin Barták, said on Sunday that the government could exert enormous influence over who wins the tender. Around two-thirds of ČEZ shares are state-owned.