LONDON (Reuters) - France's EDF (>> EDF) has awarded a multi-year contract to extend the lifetime of most of Britain's nuclear plants to engineering services group Doosan Babcock, a subsidiary of Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction (>> Doosan Heavy Industries & Cnstn Co Ltd).

The contract, which includes engineering, project management and maintenance work, is worth around 70 million pounds per year to Doosan Babcock.

Both contract parties declined to comment on the length of the deal, which was reported by Korean media to extend more than 17 years at a value of 1.7 billion pounds.

"Doosan Babcock has a long history of supporting EDF Energy in the UK nuclear sector and we are delighted to have been given this opportunity to further build our relationship," said Cameron Gilmour, Doosan Babcock's nuclear services director.

EDF plans to extend the operational lifetime of most of its UK nuclear plants, but still requires approval from Britain's nuclear regulator.

Last week the utility said it planned to run its Dungeness B nuclear plant in Kent, southeast England, until 2028, pushing the station's years in service to 45.

Britain is counting on the construction of new nuclear power plants to replace operating ones once they shut down.

Last October it agreed preliminary terms of a contract with EDF to guarantee a minimum electricity price for the French firm's first new nuclear plant in Europe since the Fukushima disaster.

(Reporting by Karolin Schaps, editing by David Evans)

Stocks treated in this article : EDF, Doosan Heavy Industries & Cnstn Co Ltd