Nuke plant rehab may cost P45B, says Kepco

MANILA, Philippines–The rehabilitation of the mothballed 620-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) may cost roughly P45 billion, according to a report submitted Friday to the state-owned National Power Corp.

According to a government official privy to the matter, the BNPP rehabilitation cost report was submitted by Korea Electric Power Co. (Kepco), as part of a feasibility study it had conducted on the nuclear facility.

The official said that the amount was still “indicative,” or an estimate of the possible costs that could be incurred should the Philippine government decide to revive the BNPP.

Rehabilitation may take up to six years to complete, the official added.

Last month, Napocor president Froilan A. Tampinco, citing an initial Kepco observation, said rehabilitation of the BNPP was found to be highly feasible.

The equipment and facilities “on the nuclear side are still OK” although the Korean firm recommended the replacement or upgrade of the plant’s fuel assembly and certain other parts, Tampinco added.

However, the initial report submitted last November did not include an estimate of how much it would take to rehabilitate the facility—a key issue in deciding whether to repair the controversial plant.

Kepco and Napocor had earlier decided that a separate report on cost estimates would be submitted in January 2010.

The Bataan nuclear plant was built during the Marcos era by Westinghouse Electric at a cost of $2.2 billion. It was mothballed over safety concerns in 1986, even before it could begin operations. The structure is now dilapidated and outdated. –Amy R. Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer