Daewoo E&C consortium: “No contractor can shoulder losses of several trillion won ... KHNP must reopen negotiations”

[Financial News] The Daewoo E&C consortium, the construction contractor for the Czech Republic nuclear power plant project, expressed strong regret over the unilateral announcement by the main contractor, KHNP, that contract negotiations had broken down. It called for renewed negotiations, asking which contractor could shoulder losses of several trillion won.
On the 29th, the construction consortium of Daewoo E&C and Doosan Enerbility issued a statement, saying, “We made every effort to conclude a subcontract with the main contractor, including submitting a revised contract proposal with the amount reduced to a level at which we could absorb the losses.” It added, “We regret the unilateral announcement that negotiations had broken down without any further extension of the negotiation period, and cannot accept it.”
The consortium said it had devoted all its resources to the project since being selected as a construction partner for Team Korea’s new Czech nuclear power plant. It added that KHNP, the main contractor, had announced that day that negotiations with the construction consortium on the subcontract for the plant’s main equipment works had broken down.
According to the consortium, after the main contract for construction of the new nuclear power plant was signed in June 2025 between KHNP, the main contractor, and the Czech client, it continued negotiations with KHNP on the subcontract for the plant’s main equipment works. It also said that, as late as the October 29 deadline set by the main contractor for contract negotiations, the construction consortium had made every effort to conclude the subcontract, including submitting a revised contract proposal with the amount reduced to a level at which it could absorb the losses.
In particular, it pointed out that KHNP did not allow sufficient time for review when it presented revised subcontract terms on the 7th of this month. The consortium said it had therefore requested an extension of the negotiation deadline until December 31, but KHNP refused.
A Daewoo E&C official said, “The new Czech nuclear power plant will be the first commercial plant anywhere in the world to use the APR1000 model, so construction costs, the schedule and the scope of work need to be assessed through advance preparation and research.” The official added, “It was practically impossible to demand that we determine our final position and conclude negotiations within the short span of just three weeks.”
The official continued, “KHNP said a lump-sum contract for construction costs was the global standard, but requiring a contractor that cannot participate in basic or detailed design to cover a large share of the additional work resulting from design changes without any adjustment to construction costs is not in keeping with global standards.”
The consortium stressed that the revised terms presented by KHNP carried risks severe enough to threaten the survival of private companies. It called on KHNP to reopen negotiations in the national interest.
[email protected] Lee Jong-bae Reporter