The South Korean government announced that a subsidiary has won a $2.5 billion order for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Egypt.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corp. which is 51% owned by the Korean government and affiliated banks, will deliver and construct four units of the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant.
The reactors will be built by a construction subsidiary of Russia's state nuclear firm Rosatom. The South Korean company will build other facilities. The first unit is scheduled for commercial operation in 2028.
This is also the first time in 13 years that South Korean has been commissioned to build an overseas nuclear plant. The last one was a contract to build four units of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates. The plant's first unit began commercial operation in 2021.
The administration under President Yoon Suk-yeol has made nuclear power plant exports a major economic policy, hoping to take advantage of the technological capabilities of domestic manufacturers such as Doosan Enerbility, formerly Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction. It is also trying to win construction projects in the Czech Republic, Poland and Saudi Arabia.
The UAE order in 2009 was won under former President Lee Myung-bak, who led negotiations and ultimately beat a consortium of Japanese and American companies headed by Hitachi and General Electric Co.
While reactor makers in Japan, the U.S. and Europe shy away from foreign construction projects after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the Yoon administration has indicated that it will actively compete for orders with Russian and Chinese firms.