Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) President & CEO Whang Joo-ho, front row second from left, signs a nuclear reactor refurbishment project order commissioned by Romania's Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica (SNN), at SNN's office in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, (local time). SNN President Cosmin Ghita, front row center, Ansaldo Nucleare President Daniela Gentile, front row left, Candu Energy President Gary Rose, front row fourth from left, and Canadian Commercial Corporation President Bobby Kwon sign the contract. Courtesy of KHNP

A consortium led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) won a nuclear reactor refurbishment project commissioned by Romania's state-run utility company, Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica (SNN), the Korean state-run utility company said, Thursday.

Securing the project bid, valued at 2.8 trillion won ($1.9 billion), has reaffirmed KHNP's advanced nuclear power plant operation and management technologies, according to the company's President & CEO Whang Joo-ho.

Whang signed the agreement at SNN's office in Bucharest on Thursday. Under the contract, KHNP and its consortium will refurbish Reactor No. 1 at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant, located in the Cernavoda region. The facility is Romania's sole nuclear-powered electricity generator.

The CANDU-6 reactor, with a capacity of 706 megawatts-electric (MWe), uses the same CANDU reactor technology as KHNP's Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

SNN President Cosmin Ghita, along with the heads of the consortium companies, were among the signatories. They included Daniela Gentile, president of Ansaldo Nucleare in Italy, and Gary Rose, president of Candu Energy in Canada.

Under the contract, KHNP, Ansaldo Nucleare, and Candu Energy will collaborate to extend the reactor's lifespan by 30 years. The agreement comes as the reactor's operational lifespan recently expired. The consortium's work is scheduled to begin in February next year and is expected to be completed within 65 months.

The companies have agreed to take on distinct roles for the project. KHNP will oversee the overall refurbishment process and handle key tasks, including replacing core components inside the existing reactor with new parts. It will also be responsible for assembling critical infrastructure, such as a storage facility for spent radioactive waste.

Total plant maintenance solutions providers KEPCO KPS and Doosan Enerbility, along with major construction engineering firms Hyundai E&C and Samsung C&T, are joining the Cernavoda project as KHNP's partners. Their combined contribution is valued at 1.2 trillion won, nearly half of the project's total value.

Candu Energy, which provided the original technologies for the Cernavoda reactor, will oversee the reactor's nuclear systems. Ansaldo Nucleare will handle the design of the reactor's turbine generators and the procurement of necessary equipment.

Whang described the latest agreement with SNN as "another indication that the global nuclear power industry has recognized KHNP's technologies for the operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants, which have been developed over more than 50 years."

"By successfully completing the Cernavoda project, KHNP's global standing will be strengthened further," Whang said.