By Kim Tae-gyu
Approximately 500 Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) employees and its partners pledged a perfect conclusion to nuclear reactor projects in the United Arab Emirates at the utility company’s head office in southern Seoul Friday.
On top of meeting the 2020 deadline, KEPCO said the work should also be faultless in all aspects including safety and quality.
KEPCO CEO Kim Joong-kyum is hoping to win other large contracts to build nuclear facilities.
``KEPCO, its suppliers and partners have a strong sense of responsibility and duty so that we can secure further nuclear exports,’’ said Kim who took charge of KEPCO last September.
``We need to weed out risk factors in a preemptive fashion in order to insulate workers from any accidents and establish a culture of putting safety on the front burner.’’
With regard to quality, Kim stressed that he would improve procedures for receiving feedbacks on all work underway and spread the mindset of focusing on quality.
During the waning days of 2009, KEPCO and its Korean consortium including Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Samsung Construction & Trade won an $18.6 billion deal of setting up four nuclear reactors in the United Arab Emirates.
The biggest energy deal in the Middle East caught the world by surprise since the Korean team beat much-favored competitors from such advanced nations in terms of nuclear business as France and the United States.
The value of the turn-key agreement can be substantially extended in the case KEPCO takes charge of operating the facilities as has been the case in other similar situations.
KEPCO broke ground for the United Arab Emirates project midway through last year and has already achieved a significant safety milestone.
The former state monopoly has not had any accidents at its construction sites in Braka, about 270 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, and surpassed 10 million accident-free man-hours in April.
A man-hour refers to the amount of work done by an average worker in an hour. The calculation excludes breaks.
KEPCO, which produces around 90 percent of the electricity used in Korea, is seen to have competitiveness both in price and quality in building nuclear reactors.
The company has suffered a deficit of late because of the rising costs of generating electricity as coal and crude oil prices have appreciated over the past few years and the government has not allowed KEPCO to raise energy bills due to surging household expenses.
Yet, analysts say that the company is financially healthy and the envisioned rise in energy charges before the peak of summer is expected to strengthen the firm’s financial prowess.