The Moon Jae-in administration on Tuesday decided to restart work on the Shin-Kori 5 and 6 units after a three-month hiatus in accordance with a recommendation by a civilian panel to that effect. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – The three-month construction suspension of two nuclear reactors in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan will likely have cost the country’s state-run utility company 75.8 billion won (US$67.1 million) in lost profit, an opposition lawmaker said Friday.
The Moon Jae-in administration on Tuesday decided to restart work on the Shin-Kori 5 and 6 units after a three-month hiatus in accordance with a recommendation by a civilian panel to that effect.
The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) said it will resume construction on Nov. 8 and complete the compensation process for its contractors by end-November. KHNP is the atomic energy company wholly owned by the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO)
The reactors were about 30 percent complete before the halt, with some 1.6 trillion won having been spent so far.
As many as 64 contractors have demanded KHNP pay 96 billion won for their financial damages and expenses spent to maintain the construction site.
“KEPCO has presented a report that the loss of 100 billion won by KNHP should translate into a reduction of 75.8 billion won in net profits for the power utility company,” Rep. Kim Jung-hoon of the largest opposition Liberty Korea Party said, citing data provided by KEPCO.
KEPCO is 32.9 percent and 18.2 percent owned, respectively, by the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
Any permanent shutdown of the two reactors under construction would have cost KEPCO 2.1 trillion won in net profits, Kim said.
(Yonhap)
