site.btaEnergy Minister Says Working Group Set Up on Construction of New Nuclear Facilities

Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov Tuesday said a working group had been set up from various ministries to prioritize the construction of new nuclear facilities in Bulgaria. He visited the Kozloduy NPP with Education and Science Minister Krasimir Valchev.

Stankov said he had tasked the N-plant's CEO Ivan Andreev, Kozloduy NPP-New Builds Plc Executive Director Petyo Ivanov, State Enterprise for Radioactive Waste Executive Director Dilyan Petrov, and the Nuclear Regulatory Agency to prepare a work programme for the next ten years, which is to ensure staffing for the construction of new nuclear capacities. The Energy Minister recalled that Unit 7 is planned to be commissioned in 2033-2034.

Petyo Ivanov said the project company's team has been negotiating with Bulgarian expats who have experience working in nuclear plants and would be ready to join Kozloduy NPP-New Builds.

Stankov added that the N-plant had paid BGN 600,000 in grants to school and university students in the last five years.

Europe is currently seeing a nuclear renaissance, the Energy Minister said. "Right now, young people can feel assured that if they graduate in fields related to nuclear energy, they will have job security and career development," he said.