Prague - The Czech Republic and Slovakia Friday signed a deal to pave the way for construction of a new nuclear reactor on the site of an old Soviet-era reactor, partially-closed as part of Slovakia's European Union accession deal. The reactor will be sited at Jaslovske Bohunice, where Slovakia agreed to shut down the two reactors by the end of 2008 as a condition for joining the EU five years ago, while another two units remain in operation.
The Czech state-controlled energy giant CEZ and Slovak state energy firm JAVYS, which has been tasked with shutting down two of the plant's four units, agreed to form a join-stock company that would build the new 100-billion-koruny reactor (5.2 billion dollars).
CEZ is to hold 49 per cent in the firm, while JAVYS is to control 51 per cent. The project's timetable is to be set after completion of a feasibility study in 2010, the Czech company said.
Slovak officials caused a stir in January when they mulled re- starting the freshly closed reactor amid the Russian-Ukrainian gas row resulting in a two-week shut-down of Russian gas flows to Europe.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia are among EU's strongest proponents of a nuclear power revival. They take turns in hosting a biyearly EU-backed nuclear energy conference in Prague and Bratislava.
