PARIS, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- France's nuclear energy company Areva announced Tuesday that it signed a 15-year contract with the Czech state-owned power utility CEZ to provide uranium enrichment service for Czech nuclear power plant.

    Czech state-owned power utility CEZ and Areva signed the contract for two reactor units at the Temelin nuclear power plant, Paris-based Areva said in a statement.

    The company's press office told Xinhua the value of the signed contract is confidential information but confirmed Areva has submitted a tender qualification documents for some Temelin project on Oct. 30.

    According to early reports at the beginning of November, Areva and other two Russian companies are running for the bids to build up five nuclear reactors at Temelin site for CEZ. The final bid, which may worth near 28 billion U.S. dollars, is expected at end of 2010 with a decision in late 2011.

    CEZ has been operating six nuclear reactors in Temelin and Dukovany, which provides 31 percent of the electricity generation for the country.

    In recent years, a number of central and eastern European countries are seeking nuclear power to replace fuel as demand growing and traditional source of energy in shortage.

    Early this month, France promised to help Poland to develop nuclear generators in the following decades.