site.btaGovernment Reverses Decision to Scrap Belene N-plant Project

Sofia, June 27 (BTA) - The government has reversed a 2012 decision to suspend a project to construct a second nuclear power plant at Belene. The decision was announced by the government information service on Wednesday which said that it follows up on a resolution by Parliament of June 7, 2018 to resume actions for seeking opportunities to build a second nuclear power plant in the country.

In line with the parliamentary resolution the government mandated the Energy Minister to seek a strategic investor on the condition that there will be no mandatory purchase contracts, preferential prices, corporate guarantees or other non-market mechanisms for investment guarantees, no state guarantee and that a separate project company will manage the assets and liabilities.

The Energy Minister is expected to organize, coordinate and supervise negotiations with potential investors and equipment manufacturers, take action to devise a procedure for selecting a strategic investor, and propose ways to structure the project until October 31, 2018 and also periodically brief the government and Parliament on the actions that have been taken and the outcome of negotiations.

All political forces in parliament except for the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) are supportive of future actions for building the Belene nuclear power plant.

When it was abandoned in 2012 by the first government of Boyko Borissov, the project was seen as unfeasible. In 2016, however, this country was ordered by an arbitration court to pay 1,170 million leva to the Russian contractor AtomStroyExport for the two reactors it had already built for Belene. In May 2018 discussions intensified about the possibility to restart the project and the power-holders said the national and regional economy need it and it is viable.