Prague - French company Areva, one of the three bidders for a multi-billion Temelín expansion contract, promised to subcontract 70 percent of the works to Czech firms.
The French company signed contracts with 14 Czech firms that will be subcontracted if Areva wins the contract.
Areva's contenders, US company Westinghouse and Russian consortium Rosatom, have already made similar agreements.
The Temelín nuclear power plant, situated in Southern Bohemia, is the Czech Republic's largest power station in terms of electrical capacity (total output of 2000 megawatts) and one of the country's two nuclear plants. It is owned by ČEZ, a Czech energy sector heavyweight.
"Areva offers significant business opportunities, including projects abroad, to the local industry. In the Temelín project, we expect to offer as much as 70 percent of the works to local firms," said Valéry Lefevre, Deputy Vice President of Areva.
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The public procurement process is in its final phase, with the three contenders trying to approach Czech companies.
Even though the participation of Czech firms on the project is not an official condition, representatives of ČEZ - the plant's operator - have repeatedly stressed that they will pay special attention to this particular issue.
Areva wants to provide the Temelín plant with large reactors whose output exceeds 3000 megawatts. According to the company, this solution will be more effective than smaller 2200 megawatt reactors proposed by Westinghouse and Rosatom.
Also, the French have been playing the European card in order to get the contract.
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The bidders are expected to present their proposals in the middle of this year. The winner will be selected in 2013, and the reconstruction is expected to be finished by 2025.
However, there is also a possibility that the project will be abandoned. On condition of anonymity, some managers of ČEZ said to Czech daily Lidové noviny that the completion project can shipwreck on low electricity prices.
