On the 6th, global project management (PM) corporation HanmiGlobal announced that it has won the PM service for the infrastructure construction project for the refurbishment of Unit 1 at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant in Romania.
In December last year, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) signed a contract with the Romanian National Company for Nuclear Activities (SNN) for the refurbishment project of Unit 1 at Cernavodă, and HanmiGlobal has been awarded the PM service for the infrastructure construction sector of this project. The service fee is approximately 10 billion won.
This project is a refurbishment initiative aimed at extending the lifespan of a nuclear power plant that began commercial operation in 1996 by 30 years. The power plant, which is a 706 MW heavy water reactor, has initiated refurbishment efforts to replace aging equipment and aims to achieve continuous operation from 2030.
This project will be carried out by an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) consortium consisting of KHNP, Canada's Candu Energy, and Italy's Ansaldo Nuclear. Among them, KHNP will form 'Team Korea' with domestic corporations like KEPCO KPS, Doosan Enerbility, Hyundai E&C, and Samsung C&T to handle the overall construction, including the replacement of major and auxiliary equipment, as well as the construction of key infrastructure facilities such as radioactive waste storage.
HanmiGlobal plans to support the success of the project through integrated management of processes, costs, and risks, as well as responses to local regulations. Following its acquisition of the UK PM specialist Walker Sime in 2022, it has been preparing for entry into the overseas nuclear power market by establishing a dedicated nuclear power department last year. The strategy is to expand business participation not only in Europe but also in the Middle East and Asia.
Noh Hee-sang, head of HanmiGlobal's Nuclear Group, stated, "This Cernavodă nuclear project is the first contract won in the overseas aging nuclear power plant continued operation market for Korea, and diversification of nuclear power export methods is expected in the future," adding, "HanmiGlobal will also use this as a springboard to expand its business scope to various business models throughout the life cycle of nuclear power plants in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia."