Projects also include gas power plant in Texas, 8 nuclear reactors in US

US President Donald Trump speaks during a Hispanic Heritage Month event at the East Room of the White House in Washington on Wednesday (local time). [AP]
US President Donald Trump speaks during a Hispanic Heritage Month event at the East Room of the White House in Washington on Wednesday (local time). [AP]

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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) announced a set of South Korean investment projects in the United States, including the construction of a gas-fired power plant in Texas, eight large nuclear reactors and the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Alaska.

Trump made the announcement at the Oval Office alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The projects mark the first formal disclosure under a $350 billion investment pledge South Korea made in exchange for a reduction in US tariffs on its exports from 25 percent to 15 percent. The deal was reached at a South Korea-US summit between President Lee Jae Myung and Trump in Gyeongju last year, and the official announcement came Wednesday after 11 months of negotiations between the two sides.

However, the South Korean government has confirmed only one project as the first designated project — a $22.3 billion gas combined-cycle power plant to be built in Encinal, Texas. The Alaska LNG development and nuclear power plant projects remain subject to further consultations.


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