On the 28th, it became known that, as the first project under the Korea-U.S. tariff agreement for investment in the United States, a plan is being seriously considered to invest $19.8 billion (about 30 trillion won) to build a gas combined-cycle power plant in southeastern Texas. The Korean government is expected to proceed by taking an equity stake in a special purpose vehicle (SPV), with major domestic plant corporations participating.
Kim Jung-kwan, Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, visited Washington, D.C., on the 22nd–25th and held talks with key U.S. officials including Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce, and the Korean negotiation team is said to be in the final stages of coordination. With electricity demand surging recently, a plant is likely to be built in Encinal, Texas. The government plans to make the official announcement of the first U.S.-bound investment project next month after final coordination.
The project is based on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Korea-U.S. strategic investment concluded under last year's Korea-U.S. tariff agreement. According to the MOU, Korea will invest a total of $350 billion in the United States, including $150 billion for shipbuilding cooperation and $200 billion for strategic investment. Korea enacted the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Act and put it into effect last month, and recently launched the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation to carry out implementation.
Within the government, there is an expectation that, with power demand in the United States surging recently due to AI investment, the business case for a gas combined-cycle power plant will be secured. KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company (KEPCO E&C) and Doosan Enerbility, which have strengths in plant construction, are expected to participate in the bidding.