[Aju News DB]
Under President Moon Jae-in's clean energy policy, South Korea is reducing its heavy dependence on nuclear energy, but ambitions to export home-made reactors have never been abandoned.
South Korea, which has almost no reserves of fossil fuels on its territory, has actively pushed for a nuclear energy program. A 2009 $20 billion contract to build four reactors in the United Arab Emirates paved the way for South Korea's first exports of reactors.
Nuclear industry officials have actively campaigned to seal the second contract in Saudi Ariabi, but Moon's policy sparked concerns about the collapse of a nuclear energy industry which has accumulated world-class technologies for decades.
South Korea is locked in the race with France, China and Russia to win a Saudi contract on building two reactors. Ryadh is expected to launch a tender process for its first nuclear project as early as next month to make it the second Middle East country to tap nuclear power after the UAE.
For South Korea, Saudi Arabi held a presentation Monday on the sidelines of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting in Austria, according to the South's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The presentation was attended by South Korean government officials and those from the state-run Korea Electric Corp. (KEPCO).
"At the bilateral meeting, we expressed our strong will to export nuclear power plants," the ministry said in a statement, adding the government would support exports of reactors through the strict assessment of "profitability and risk" if they are good for our nation.
As the world's biggest crude exporter, Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify energy supplies and reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons. Construction will start next year on two plants.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
