France’s Areva out of the bidding for Czech nuclear plant expansion
Areva has promised to take legal action after ČEZ rejected the French conglomerate’s appeal against its exclusion from the tender to build two reactors at the Temelín nuclear power plant.
In a statement released after the October 29 decision by ČEZ, Areva complained of an “absolute lack of dialogue” in its dealings with the Czech utility and said it would “take all legal actions available under Czech and European Union laws” including lodging a further appeal.
The Paris-based company also called for the bidding process to be suspended, a request that if acted upon would potentially delay the planned 2013 selection of the preferred bidder for the contract, estimated to be worth 200 billion to 300 billion crowns ($10.4 billion-$15.5 billion).
Before the surprise announcement that Areva’s bid had failed to progress beyond the initial stage was made on October 5, the French company had been a favorite to win the contract, as its EPR reactor design is already licensed for use within the EU. Two weeks after being dropped, the company confirmed it had lodged the appeal with ČEZ.
Read the full story at The Prague Post.
(Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic. Photo: Japo/Wikimedia Commons)
