Korean firm keen on developing nuclear power for PHL

Should the Philippine government decide to foray into nuclear power generation, Korea Electric Power said it is interested to develop a nuclear plant in the country.

“KEPCO group has interest in developing nuclear power in the Philippines,” KEPCO Philippines senior commercial manager Kang Jeong Go told GMA News Online on the sidelines of the Korean Trade Mission Power Forum in Makati City on Thursday.

“In case the Philippines enters the nuclear market, our subsidiary Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. will be in charge when it comes to developing nuclear power plant in the Philippines,” Kang said.

In 2009, KEPCO conducted a feasibility study on the possible revival of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).

The Korean firm found that reviving the BNPP will cost around $1 billion.

“At that time we suggested that instead of rehab we suggest to construct a new power plant because it is more than 20-year-old asset,” Kang said.

“It is more efficient to construct a new nuclear power plant, in case the Philippines enter nuclear energy,” he said.

KEPCO Philippines has been operating power plants in the Philippines for the last 20 years. — VDS, GMA News