U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced Korea's investments in the United States at the White House on Sept. 30 local time, citing Alaska LNG as one of them. He said "(Korea) will invest a little more than $50 billion." Lutnick stressed that "this project will begin to seriously tap Alaska's enormous natural resources."
Lutnick said the largest of Korea's U.S. investments is the construction of eight ultra-large nuclear power plants, worth $100 billion plus a $20 billion contingency reserve, explaining that "these will be built in Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky." He added that "more than $22 billion will go toward building a 6.5-gigawatt gas-fired power plant in Texas."
President Donald Trump said "the Alaska project will be one of the largest energy projects in U.S. history," adding that it "will immediately create up to 12,000 construction jobs and 1,000 operating jobs." He also claimed it "will save Alaskan households up to $1,500, maybe $2,200, a year in energy costs."
The U.S. side also laid out a specific timetable. Asked about the completion schedule for Alaska LNG, an official in attendance said "the pipeline will take three years to build and work can begin immediately once financing is secured," adding that "in three years, cheap gas will be flowing in Alaska." The official also said "LNG exports will begin two years after that."
