Tongyeong Ecopower Corp., a subsidiary of HDC, has recovered its business right to promote the Tongyeong LNG Power Plant Project upon the decision of the Supreme Court. On April 24, the Supreme Court ruled that the appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected at the hearing on appeals of a “request for cancellation of a power plant license”. The rejection of the appeal to the Supreme Court means that the judgment of the first and second trials does not have a problem and acknowledge the existing decision. Since Tongyeong Ecopower Corp. has already won the case against the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in the first and second trials, it can proceed with the license regeneration process.
Tongyeong LNG Power Plant is a natural gas-fueled power plant worth KRW 1.4 trillion, which includes one 1,012 kW power plant and one 200,000 kL storage tank. It will be built at the site of Seongdong Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Gwangdo-myeon, Tongyeong-si, Gyeongnam. The business license was revoked by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in June 2017 because it was claimed that it was unclear if the project would be promoted.
The Seoul Administrative Court and the Seoul High Court, which were in charge of the first and second trials, as well as the Supreme Court, presented the Tongyeong Ecopower Corp.'s willingness to carry out this project and the fact that substantial amount of necessary procedures had been implemented for launching the project as the main reasons for the judgment. Furthermore, they ruled that the license cancellation of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy was unfair considering the fairness with other projects licensed at the same time.
As they recovered the business rights, HDC and Tongyeong Ecopower Corp. began full-fledged project promotion. HDC plans to complete the purchase of the business lot (27,269m2) in the Seongdong Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering as soon as possible. It has concluded the site purchase contract with Seongdong Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and is expected to settle the balance and take over the ownership in the first half of the year.
Subsequently, it will organize a consortium with companies competent in design, procurement, and construction such as Midland Power Co., Ltd. It aims to start the construction in the first half of 2020 after consultation with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Tongyeong City.
An official from Tongyeong Ecopower said, “We will contribute to revitalizing the economy of Tongyeong and vicinities by re-promoting the project as soon as possible in consultation with government agencies.”