Three companies are competing in the final stage of bidding to acquire Tongyang Power, which has a business license for a 2,000-megawatt power plant building project in Samcheok, industry sources said on Tuesday,

The final contenders are POSCO Energy, a Daewoo Engineering & Construction-led consortium, and a consortium led by Daelim Industrial. Both Daewoo E&C and Daelim Industrial are ranked on the nation’s top 10 builder list. 

The preferred bidder will be announced on June 10, sources added.

Last year, Tongyang Power, an energy affiliate of Tongyang Group, won a 3 trillion won ($2.9 billion) business license to build and operate the coal-fired thermal power plant to be located in Samcheok, Gangwon Province. The first phase of the 2,000-megawatt power plant is expected to be completed in 2019.

The power industry forecasts that Tongyang Power will generate an estimated annual profit worth 1.5 trillion won and 300 billion won in operating profit for 30 years after the power complex is completed.

Among the three bidders, POSCO Energy reportedly took the lead by offering the highest bid of over 350 billion won. The price for undertaking the Tongyang Power project is estimated at around 250 billion won to 300 billion won, market analysts said. The price tags submitted by the other two firms have not been revealed.

If it wins the bid it will be the first time for Daewoo E&C, one of the leading power plant builders, to take over a power firm or power plant.

Daelim Industrial aims to become a global developer by acquiring the Samcheok thermal power plant with the support of coal mining company Samtan.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)