Among the contenders are companies from France, the United States, South Korea, Japan and the Czech Republic, the paper reported.

“For diplomats from these countries, the matter of the nuclear power station is an absolute priority this year,” said one expert in the energy sector. PGE, which wants to have a share of at least 51 percent in the project, will choose a partner by the end of this year. However, “there’s no point in kidding yourself- the final decision is going to be taken by the prime minister in any case,” the expert said, according to the paper.

The competition began already last year with the visit to Poland of General Electric Chief Executive Jeff Immelt. Other competitors may include Electricite de France, Westinghouse Electric, Toshiba, CEZ and Korea Electric Power. The plant is to be completed by 2020, the news agency reported.