site.btaSeptember 3, 2008: First Sod Turned for Belene N-plant Project that Was Later Abandoned

Sixteen years ago Tuesday, the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant officially started. The first sod was turned on September 3, 2008 in a ceremony by Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev. Some construction work was done and equipment was purchased before the project was abandoned in March 2012 as unfeasible. In 2016, this country was ordered by an arbitration court to pay BGN 1,170 million to Russian contractor AtomStroyExport for two reactors it had already built for Belene. Since then the government has been trying to revive the project. Parliament last abolished a moratorium on its construction in June 2018. In August 2919, seven companies, including two Bulgarian ones, entered bids for strategic investors, answering a call launched by the government. Three companies: Russia's Rosatom through its subsidiary Atomenergoprom, the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., were invited to submit binding bids. Bids for participation in the project's financial structuring and supply of turbines and other equipment came from France's Framatome and General Electric of the US. The investor selection procedure was suspended in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2023, the Council of Ministers revoked previous government decisions on the construction of a Belene Nuclear Power Plant and its designation as a project of national significance.

Following is the story in the English-language service of BTA reporting the first-sod ceremony at the site of what was due to become the country's second N-plant:

PM Stanishev Breaks Ground for Belene N-Plant Project

Belene, on the Danube, September 3 (BTA) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev formally launched work on the Belene Nuclear Power Plant project here on Wednesday, the Government Information Service said. 

The new nuclear facility is expected to be commissioned in 2013-2014. It includes construction of two 1,000 MW nuclear reactors: Unit 1, to be built within 6.5 years, and Unit 2, which will take 7.5 years to build, according to the press release. The cost of the project is approximately 4,000 million euro. The reactors that will be used are the best regarded model in the EU, with a high level of safety and the longest design service life: 60 years.

Addressing the ground-breaking ceremony on the construction site of Unit 2, Stanishev said that this project gives "a clear prospect to the Bulgarian economy and power industry."

"The construction of the Belene N-Plant is crucial for the Bulgarian energy sector, because energy is the blood of the economy, it enables us to produce enough electricity at affordable prices for Bulgarian industry," the PM stressed. "The project enjoys the full support of the European Union," he added, noting that the investment proposal has successfully passed all assessments: environmental impact, seismic, reactor safety etc. The PM argued that implementation of the project will give this country far greater energy independence. Another advantage of nuclear power is that it is more economic and less polluting. "Without development of nuclear power, it is impossible to halt adverse climate change," Stanishev said.

He sees the suspension of the project in 1990 as indicative of the then condition of the State, the economy and the power industry, and the present resumption of construction work as a demonstration of the revival of nuclear power and Bulgaria's development as a modern, highly technological and industrialized country.

"The state of nuclear power is symptomatic of the country's technological level and raises very highly the benchmark for the extent of modernization of all sectors. I am proud of Bulgarian power engineers, who are capable of developing such a complicated design," Stanishev said.

He described the Belene N-Plant project as "a very fine example of partnership between Russian company AtomStroyExport and two key European nuclear power companies: AREVA of France and Siemens of Germany." "We share the effort and the desire to build together a safe nuclear power plant, which will contribute substantially to Bulgaria's modernization and to an improvement of the quality of life of each Bulgarian," the Prime Minister said.

Economy and Energy Minister Peter Dimitrov, who also attended the ceremony, said that the actual construction of the N-plant should start by May 2009. The foundation of Unit 2 will be cast until the end of this year, and it will be followed by the foundation of Unit 1 by March 2009, according to the Government Information Office.

MPs, foreign diplomats, AtomStroyExport President Leonid Reznikov, representatives of subcontractors AREVA and Siemens, and many skilled workers who have been involved with the project over the years, were present at the ceremony. 

"The Belene N-Plant epitomizes the future of Bulgaria, because the facility will guarantee investments, well-paid jobs and a modernized infrastructure to the region and the rest of the country," Stanishev said as he was welcomed by the residents of Belene in front of Town Hall after the ground-breaking ceremony. Belene Mayor Peter Doulev presented the Prime Minister with the symbolic key to the town in token of gratitude for his efforts to get the project off the ground, the Government press release says.