Seoul, Oct 31 (IANS): The Czech antitrust watchdog said on Thursday it denied complaints from the United States' Westinghouse and France's EDF over the Czech government's decision to pick Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) as a preferred bidder to build two nuclear units.

The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (UOHS) has temporarily blocked the Czech Republic from signing the deal in response to appeals filed by Westinghouse and EDF.

A South Korean consortium, led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, was chosen as the preferred bidder in July and has been negotiating contract terms to finalise a contract by March, a deal estimated at around 24 trillion won ($18 billion), reports Yonhap news agency.

Westinghouse claimed KHNP's nuclear reactors are based on its technology, while EDF said it wanted to ensure the selection process was fair and transparent.

"The proceedings on the proposals of both companies were mostly terminated, while other parts of the proposals were rejected," the UOHS said in a statement.

The office said Westinghouse's objections to the contracting authority's use of a security exception were dismissed as they were filed after the deadline in March 2022, noting the U.S. company submitted the objection in August.

Both companies also alleged violations in supplier selection, but the office terminated the claims since they did not fall under required public procurement procedures.

The UOHS said EDF and Westinghouse could file an appeal with the chairman, and that Czech electricity producer CEZ cannot sign the deal with KHNP until a final decision is made in the case.