The joint venture between Poland and South Korea to build a second nuclear power station in Poland will not rely on public finances alone and will not be funded directly by the public purse, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin announced on Thursday.
The deputy prime minister was responding to concerns from the BiznesAlert.pl outlet about whether Poland was sure it could manage two nuclear power projects.
Asked whether there would be some funding from South Korea, Sasin responded saying that it was too early to talk about the financial offer, but he signaled that the South Korean company involved, KHNP, was ready for significant capital involvement. More would be revealed after the completion of the feasibility study, which will make it possible to provide information about the budget, timetable, and financing model, Sasin added.
He was certain that it would be a “win-win” project for both Poland and South Korea.
The deputy prime minister was also asked about the chances of KHNP agreeing on technology transfer with the U.S. company engaged in the construction of Poland’s first nuclear power station, Westinghouse. He felt that this had to be resolved between the two companies but that government involvement of both the U.S. and South Korea in these projects made this likely.
Sasin was also questioned on whether the deal on nuclear power was in any way a transaction tied to the military equipment supply contracts Poland has secured in South Korea. He replied that many factors were involved. Among them was South Korea’s choice of Poland as a strategic economic partner. Cooperation is developing in chemicals, defense, and now nuclear energy.
“More talks are planned in Warsaw and may in the future cover hydrogen and other energy,” Sasin said, adding that the cooperation would involve significant transfer of technology, especially in the military and nuclear energy spheres.
He expressed satisfaction over the high priority afforded to cooperation with Poland by South Korea. According to Sasin, his South Korean counterpart, Minister for Industry Lee Chang-Yang, made it clear that for South Korea, Poland was to be a base for expansion into Europe.
