Toshiba Corp. said on August 26 it was discussing a business tie-up with South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co. in nuclear power plants. "We have agreed with Doosan to begin talks on how we can form wide-ranging relations to cooperate in the nuclear power business, including PWRs (pressurised water reactors)," said Ken Shinjo, a Toshiba spokesman.
Toshiba, which controls U.S. nuclear power plant maker Westinghouse Electric, has separately reached a similar accord with Ishikawajima-Harima Industries Co. Ltd. (IHI), he said.
The company declined to give details of the tie-up, but the Yomiuri Shimbun reported in its evening edition that Doosan will offer PWR technology to Toshiba in return for orders from the Japanese group for its nuclear power equipment. Toshiba will then offer the PWR technology to IHI so that the Japanese heavy-machinery firm can produce steam generation systems for Toshiba's PWRs, the daily said.
Toshiba, which bought Westinghouse Electric from British Nuclear Fuels in 2006, is investing heavily to expand its nuclear power business, and aims to sell 33 nuclear reactors by 2015.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
