PRAGUE, May 6 (Xinhua) -- A Czech court on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the Czech firm Elektrarna Dukovany II (EDU II) from signing a final contract with South Korea's Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) for the construction of new nuclear reactors at the Dukovany power plant.

The injunction follows a legal complaint by French energy company EDF, which had participated in the tender but lost. EDF challenged the decision of the Czech competition authority UOHS.

The regional court in Brno published the information on its official website. As a result, the contract, originally scheduled to be signed on Wednesday, has been postponed pending a final court ruling.

The dispute concerns a contract for the construction of two new nuclear reactors, valued at an estimated 400 billion Czech crowns (about 18 billion U.S. dollars).

"We are convinced that the selection process was conducted fairly and in accordance with the law. We believe that the court is aware of the broader context and will decide quickly," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on social media platform X.

The Czech government decided to build new units in July 2024. (1 Czech crown = 0.046 U.S. dollar) ■