On the seafront in South Korea’s southeastern city of Ulsan, the country’s latest nuclear reactor has been lying idle for more than a year, awaiting government clearance to start operating. State-run reactor builder Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power estimates the delayed approval of the Singori-4 reactor, the construction of which cost the country Won3.5tn ($3.1bn), means it is missing out on Won1.5bn a day in revenue. Even as the administration of President Moon Jae-in tries to move away from nuclear energy to environmentally friendly renewables, KHNP executives expect to win government approval by November, once requisite tests for earthquake durability are complete. But industry leaders question why the reactor – the same model that KHNP built almost a decade ago for the United Arab Emirates – should be delayed for so long when the twin model Singori-3 reactor next to it has been operating without a hitch for more than a year. With many foreign rivals mired in cost overruns and construction delays, Kepco has emerged as one of the few international companies capable of building nuclear reactors – but experts see trouble brewing with Seoul’s shift away from nuclear. “With the financial trouble of Toshiba and Areva, South Korea is facing a golden opportunity to export more reactors, but Mr Moon is giving it up with his anti-nuclear policy,” said Prof Suh. Seoul has pledged its full support for Kepco’s export drive but experts say that may not be enough. “The South Korean government’s policy has jeopardised Kepco’s ability to export nuclear technology by denting its credibility in the market,” said Matthew Blumberg, an analyst at Hayberry Global Fund in Sydney. “Potential customers would be asking themselves why they should use South Korean technology, when the technology is being phased out in South Korea itself.”
FT 30th Sept 2018 read more »