South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. has been named as the preferred bidder for a nuclear power plant project in Bulgaria, signaling the company’s return to the overseas nuclear power market after 15 years.

Hyundai E&C announced Friday, local time, that it passed the pre-qualification process for a new construction for the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant in Bulgaria. It also received approval from the Bulgarian parliament.

The Kozloduy plant is located about 200 kilometers north of Bulgaria‘s capital Sofia. Hyundai E&C plans to participate in the project by building two 2,200-megawatt (MW) nuclear power reactors.

The final contract is expected to be concluded in April 2024 after negotiations with the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant-New Builds Plc (KNPP-NB).

The total cost of the project, including the construction of reactors, is anticipated to be $14 billion, the largest in 15 years since the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates in 2009.

The Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, responsible for one-third of Bulgaria’s electricity production, was the country‘s first nuclear power plant built in 1969.

Reactors No. 1 to No. 4 were shut down due to aging issues, and the Russian-developed Reactors 5 and 6 are currently in operation.

Reactors 7 and 8, which will be newly constructed this time, will be equipped with the AP1000 model from U.S. nuclear power company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC. The reactors are scheduled to be in operations by 2035.

Hyundai E&C is also aiming for small modular reactor (SMR) construction contracts in Europe, including Ukraine, Poland, and Romania, as SMRs can be built relatively close to urban areas compared to large nuclear power plants.

Their construction and operating costs are also generally lower than those of conventional nuclear power plants.

Previously, Hyundai E&C secured a contract for the main facilities construction of Shin Hanul reactors No. 3 and No. 4 in Korea.

By Seo Chan-dong and Yoon Yeon-hae

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