Temelin bidder Areva inks memoranda with Czech partners

French state-run energy company Areva signed outline arrangements on Friday with 11 Czech companies on potential cooperation in the construction of two nuclear units in the country.

"These contracts are another confirmation of our commitment to take part in the completion of the Temelin plant" in southern Czech Republic, run by Czech state-run power group CEZ, Areva's director for Germany Stefan vom Scheidt said in Prague.

The Czech partners include fittings makers, producers of air-conditioning and ventilation systems and steel frame makers.

Areva, which signed similar memoranda with 14 Czech producers on March 5, also has a 15-year contract with CEZ to provide uranium enrichment services for Temelin.

Areva is competing with groupings led by US giant Westinghouse and Russia's Atomstroiexport for the contract worth an estimated 20 billion euros ($25 billion).

The companies are due to submit their bids by July 2 this year, with the winner to be announced next year.

The Czech government, which owns 66 percent of CEZ, expects the project to be finished around 2025.

CEZ, a major European energy producer, operates two nuclear plants in the Czech Republic, which provide 30 percent of the country's electricity.

After the completion of Temelin, the share of nuclear energy is expected to rise to 50 percent.

Planned in the communist era and launched in 2000, the existing Temelin facility includes two Russian-type VVER pressurised-water reactors, each with an output of 1,000 megawatts.