South Korea Starts Work on 2 Nuclear Power Reactors

South Korea broke ground on two commercial nuclear power reactors here on Friday as part of its efforts to generate more electricity from atomic energy, a state-run electricity company said.

A total of 4.7 trillion won (US$4.97 billion) will be spent on the reactors on the outskirts of Gyeongju, a city about 371 kilometres southeast of Seoul, the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said.

The first 1-million-kilowatt reactor is scheduled to be built by October 2011, with the second one set to launch one year later.

The groundbreaking comes after the government endorsed the projects last September.

The reactors will be located in a site that was chosen late last year through a plebiscite as a repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste.

The two reactors are expected to boost the local economy and help meet the rising demand for electricity amid skyrocketing oil prices.

"Nuclear power is emerging again (as a major energy source) after 20 years of experiencing a global downturn due to new market conditions prompted by surging oil prices and international pacts on climate change," Commerce Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during the event.

"The new nuclear reactors in the city will play an important role in supplying the nation with electricity after the year 2012," Chung added.

South Korea currently operates 20 commercial nuclear reactors, with 10 more to be built or designed in the next 10 years. About 40 per cent of the country's electric power is generated by nuclear reactors.

(Yonhap)

News Provided By