site.btaMinister Stankov: Project for New Nuclear Capacities Is Strategic for Bulgaria, Region

Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov said the project to build new nuclear capacities is of strategic importance for Bulgaria and the South-Eastern European region, the Energy Ministry's press service reported on Wednesday.

Stankov made the statement during a meeting with Oscar Prat, Project Director of the Westinghouse-HD&C consortium and Project Director for Bulgaria, and Junyoung Park, Senior Manager at Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Director of Hyundai for the project in Bulgaria. NPP-Kozloduy-New Capacities CEO Petyo Ivanov also attended.

Stankov noted Bulgaria's long-standing experience in nuclear energy and stressed the need for effective participation of Bulgarian companies in the construction of the seventh and eighth units at the Kozloduy NPP site.

"In the implementation of the project we will rely on quality, speed and competitive price," the Energy Minister said. In his words, the Bulgarian side will do everything necessary to speed up the implementation process, but this should not be at the expense of quality.

During the meeting, he stressed that the project must comply with the Bulgarian legal framework and standards, as well as international safety and environmental standards.

"Bulgaria's ambition is to be the first country in Europe with a working AP1000 reactor. I expect that together we will turn the new capacity project in Kozloduy into a symbol of success and a benchmark for the implementation of nuclear power plant contracts not only in Europe but globally," Energy Minister Stankov further said.