KEPCO picks local company to lay new underseas power cables to Jeju

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said
Thursday that it picked a local company to lay new undersea power cables linking
the mainland to Jeju Island.
The power monopoly said LS Cable Ltd. met the various technical requirements and
performance guarantees and was selected over the two foreign companies that had
competed for the project.
It also said that LS agreed to lay the cables for 328.1 billion won (US$237.2
million), 120 billion won less than originally expected.
LS, France's NEXANS and JPS of Japan submitted proposals to win the project last
November.
"The deal marks the first time that a local company has been selected to lay an
underseas power cable in the country," said a KEPCO spokesperson. He said the
experience gained could help local companies compete in the 1.5 trillion won
global undersea power cable market.
In the past 50 years, three European companies have controlled the domestic
undersea power cable market.
The work involves laying three 250 kilovolt (kV) direct current cables and one
20lV alternating current cable from Jindo in South Jeolla Province to the resort
island of Jeju off the southern coast of South Korea.
The cables will span 122 kilometers, 105 of which will run under the sea, with
laying operations to last three years.
The present Haenam-Jeju cable line has provided 36 percent of the island's power
for the past decade but there has been calls for a second link as a backup
measure.
In April 2006, the Haenam-Jeju line was severed causing power failure throughout
the island.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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