AFP: French foreign minister surprised by Areva's exclusion from Temelín tender

Paris, Oct 17 (CTK) - Areva's ruling out of the tender for the completion of the Czech nuclear power plant Temelin came as a surprise for France and Paris believes the appeal process will help clarify all the misunderstandings, the AFP news agency wrote yesterday referring to a French foreign ministry spokesperson.

Ladislav Kriz, spokesman for the Czech power utility CEZ which runs Temelin, said on October 5 that France's Areva did not meet conditions of the Kc200bn-Kc300bn tender to build two new units at Temelin in southern Bohemia near the Austrian border. This is why CEZ excluded Areva from the tender, citing commercial and legal reasons that are of fundamental principle.

Areva said it would appeal the decision.

CEZ's decision was surprising. It was based on legal judgements that are quite unusual for similar international tenders and in this stage of the tender process, the spokesman said.

It was a bigger surprise given that the French side had been in close dialogue with Czech authorities at all levels, he added.

French authorities want all the misunderstandings that resulted in Areva's exclusion be clarified in the appeal process, spokesman Vincent Floreani said at a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in the centre of Paris.

Areva is still very interested in participating in further stages of the contest under fair and just conditions, Floreani told AFP.

Areva will use the appeal to prove that its offer respects all tender requirements, just like the bids of the other two participants, Floreani said.

The bidders are the US-Japanese firm Westinghouse and the Czech-Russian consortium of Skoda JS, Atomstroyexport and Gidropress.

"Areva firmly believes we have met all the tender criteria and we look forward to addressing the issues raised by CEZ," Areva said in response to the CEZ verdict on October 5.

"We are confident our offer to CEZ is the most competitive one and our commitment to the Temelin completion project remains absolute," said Areva.

The construction of the third and fourth units is to be completed in 2025 at the latest, and the winner of the tender will be picked next year.