Czech CEZ says to look for nuclear projects abroad

PRAGUE, March 19 (Reuters) - Czech power firm CEZ (CEZPsp.PR: Quote, Profile, Research) will look for opportunities to build nuclear power stations abroad as the Czech government does not support nuclear expansion in its home market, the company said on Wednesday.

"We will follow developments in all the target countries of our expansion, in the region of central and eastern Europe, for the possibilities to enter individual projects," CEZ mergers and acquisitions chief Vladimir Schmalz said in a statement.

The statement added that 12 countries in the region have declared interest in launching new or expanding existing nuclear power programmes, newly including Poland and Turkey.

CEZ, the biggest central European company with market capitalisation of $44.7 billion, operates two nuclear power stations in the Czech Republic, Temelin and Dukovany.

It has also become a partner in Romania's planned two new units at the Cernavoda plant.

CEZ has been preparing an expansion of its 2,000-megawatt Temelin plant but has taken no concrete steps due to the cabinet's pledge not to support building new nuclear power stations.

All major political parties in the Czech Republic support nuclear energy except for the Greens, a junior partner in the ruling centre-right coalition, which insists on maintaining the pledge.

CEZ has however been upgrading its older Dukovany plant to slightly raise the capacity of its existing four units. (Reporting by Jan Korselt, writing by Jan Lopatka; editing by James Jukwey)