Korea Electric Power Corp., the state-run energy company, said Wednesday that it has won a $46 million order from the Dominican Republic to install power transmission lines in the Caribbean island nation.

KEPCO said it signed the deal with the Dominican government on Tuesday in Santo Domingo, the country’s capital, to replace 400 kilometers of old power cables in three major cities there by May 2013.

Located in the center of the Caribbean Sea, the Dominican Republic is the second-largest nation in the region. Known as a vacation getaway or honeymoon destination, the country has a tropical climate with an average temperature of about 25 degree Celsius.

In 2008, KEPCO secured a $500 million project to establish and operate a coal power plant in the island.

The 240,000 kilowatts coal plant will replace an existing fuel oil power plant, the power company said. Construction is due to be completed later this year.

In February, a consortium led by KEPCO signed a $146 million agreement with Kazakhstan to modernize aged power substations and build electricity wires in southwestern regions by November 2013.

KEPCO set out its overseas electrical cable business in 2009.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)