By Kwanwoo Jun

South Korean nuclear energy stocks surged after the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power-led consortium finalized an estimated $19 billion deal in the Czech Republic.

KHNP, an affiliate of state utility Korea Electric Power, said Thursday that it had signed a contract with Czech state power company, Elektrarna Dukovany II, to build two new nuclear reactors for the Dukovany power plant, southeast of Prague.

Shares of KEPCO Engineering & Construction, a KHNP subsidiary responsible for designing the new nuclear power units, jumped as much as 24% to 75,700 won in early afternoon trading, outperforming the benchmark Kospi's 1.1% gain. Another KHNP consortium member Doosan Enerbility, a nuclear reactor supplier, gained 8.4% to 46,250 won.

The Dukovany contract is valued at around 26 trillion won, equivalent to $19.09 billion, KHNP said.

Signing of the contract--originally due in May--had been delayed by a Czech lower court's injunction following a legal complaint filed by a defeated French bidder. However, an appeals court on Wednesday dismissed the lower court's decision and gave the green light to the KHNP consortium, according to KHNP.

The contract marks South Korea's second major nuclear energy project overseas after it built a Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, KHNP said.

The KHNP consortium won the bid in the Czech Republic last year, beating rival France's EDF. The Central European country is seeking to expand its nuclear energy power grid to wean itself off fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 05, 2025 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)

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