The presidential office said Thursday that a South Korean nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic will proceed as planned despite a temporary hold placed by the Czech antitrust body.

On Wednesday, news reports said the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition had imposed the hold in response to appeals filed by U.S. nuclear energy firm Westinghouse Electric Co. and French energy company Electricite de France.

The news came as a South Korean consortium, led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, has been seeking to finalize a contract to build two nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic by March after being chosen as the preferred bidder in July.

"A temporary hold is a temporary phenomenon that takes place according to procedures following the appeals of competitors that lost in the bidding process," Park Sang-ook, senior presidential secretary for science and technology, said in an interview with broadcaster YTN.

"There are no problems with the proceedings for the actual final contract," he added.

Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Lukas Vlcek told Czech media outlet Echo 24 on Wednesday (local time) that the hold is a standard step in response to a competitor's objection and the government expects it will not affect the current tender schedule. (Yonhap)