Polish, Korean governments sign deal on nuclear power plant

Poland's State Assets Ministry signed a cooperation and support agreement for the construction of a Polish nuclear power station with South Korea's Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry on Monday.

Poland plans to develop a nuclear power station using Korean technology in Patnow in the central Lodzkie province.

The agreement was signed in Seoul by Jacek Sasin, Poland's state assets minister, and Korean Energy Minister Lee Chang-Yang.

Also on Monday, Polish energy firm PGE and local electricity producer ZE PAK signed a letter of intent with Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power in Seoul on the creation of a construction plan for the Patnow plant using Korea's APR 1400 reactor technology.

The plant's plans include an initial environmental impact analysis, budget and financing model as well as a timeline for the project. The initial development plan is to be completed in 2022.

The two ministries said in their agreement that they will undertake to define the scope of cooperation and a timeline for the Patnow project and later prepare an updated version of the agreement.

The agreement does not create any obligations under international law or bind the parties in any way.

Sasin said it would take four to five years to prepare the necessary documentation before construction of the Patnow plant could start, "so if Minister (Lee - PAP) talks about 2025, that is very optimistic but I think construction can start not much later than that."

Sasin added that Korean capital would be involved in the project.

On Monday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that the government had confirmed it would use nuclear technology provided by US company Westinghouse Nuclear for a parallel project to be developed at a site on the Polish coast.