site.btaKozloduy NPP to Have New Reactor in 2033

The construction of the seventh reactor unit of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) will start on Wednesday by decision of the Council of Ministers and will be ready in 2033. For this purpose, the capital of Kozloduy NPP-New Builds EAD will be increased by BGN 500 million.

The Cabinet assigned Energy Minister Rumen Radev to take the necessary actions on the transparent selection of a contractor for the design, construction and commissioning of the new power unit. The final contract with the selected company and with the supplier of the AP1000 technology must be drawn up under the conditions of a fixed price and execution period. The Cabinet obliged the Minister of Energy to organize negotiations with financial institutions to secure the necessary loan funds.

With the same government decision, preparations will begin for the construction of the 8th reactor of the Kozloduy NPP. According to the plan, the construction activities of the two new power units should be done at the same time and the second one should be completed within two to three years after the first one.

Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov defined Wednesday's decision of the Council of Ministers as one of the most important that the Cabinet will make during this mandate. "The total capacity of the future 7th and 8th units will be 2300 MW, which significantly exceeds the capacity of 1760 MW of the closed 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th units of the Kozloduy NPP", the Prime Minister pointed out before the regular meeting of the government.

Denkov pointed out the fact that the technology that will be used for these reactors is unique in the world: "It allows the power of the reactors to be changed twice in a very short period of time, which is extremely important for the stable management of the energy system."