BUCHAREST, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Romanian state-owned

nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica has signed

the main engineering contract to extend the life of its first

reactor at a cost of about 1.9 billion euros ($1.98 billion), it

said on Thursday.

The deal is with a consortium of four companies, comprising

Canada's AtkinsRealis ( SNCAF ), the Canadian Commercial

Corporation, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co (KHNP) and Italy's

Ansaldo Nucleare, pending approval from the Canadian government

and Nuclearelectrica shareholders.

Romania has two 706 megawatt (MW) reactors that use Canadian

CANDU technology, owned by AtkinsRealis ( SNCAF ), formerly known as

SNC-Lavalin group, accounting for a fifth of the European Union

country's power production.

It plans to add two more 700 MW reactors using the same

technology by 2031 and 2032 respectively.

The plans for its first reactor, which was connected to the

national grid in 1996, aim to extend its life by three decades.

Work on the reactor is expected to start in 2026.

KHNP said that its share of the project will be about 840

million euros, including replacement of major components and

construction of infrastructure such as a radioactive waste

storage facility.

Separately, Nuclearelectrica aims to build a small modular

reactor plant (SMR) using technology from U.S. company NuScale

Power ( SMR ), which could become Europe's first project using

the technology.

The two new reactors and the SMR project would double

Romania's nuclear power capacity as it seeks to cut carbon

emissions to meet EU reduction goals and bolster energy

security.

($1 = 0.9601 euros)