South Korean firm GS Engineering and Construction said Wednesday it has won a 3.4-billion-dollar contract to build one of the world's largest tidal power stations.
Under the deal signed with the state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co, GS Engineering will build the power station on the west coast near Gangwha Island, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Seoul.
Construction will start in late 2011 with a view to completion in 2017.
The power station will have a capacity of 1.3 million kilowatts per hour or 2.41 billion kilowatts per year.
In order to produce the same amount of energy, a thermal power plant would require 3.54 million barrels of fuel every year and emit one million tonnes of greenhouse gas, the company said in a statement.
South Korea is also in the process of building three other tidal power plants on the west coast.
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