Bulgaria nuclear project attracts China and S.Korea interest-sources (updated)

CNNC International

19/08/2019 16:50

(Recasts with sources comments, adds background)
    By Tsvetelia Tsolova and Maria Kiselyova
    SOFIA/MOSCOW, Aug 19 (Reuters) - State-run companies from
China and South Korea have applied to be strategic investors in
Bulgaria's revived Belene nuclear project, two industry sources
familiar with the process said on Monday after Russia's Rosatom
said it wanted to take part.
    Sofia plans to pick a strategic investor or investors by May
22 next year to install and run two Russian-made 1,000 megawatt
reactors at Belene project on the river Danube. The plant,
estimated to cost about 10 billion euros ($11 billion), should
be operational in 10 years.
    Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova will announce the bidders
on Tuesday morning, the energy ministry said, a move preempted
by Russia's state-owned Rosatom which said it had applied to
take part in the project.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N25F1VY
    The sources who declined to be identified said China's
state-owned CNNC  2302.HK  and state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear
Power Co (KHNP), a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corp
 015760.KS , had also filed applications. 
    Shortlisted candidates will be asked to file binding offers.
    France's Framatome, a unit of EDF  EDF.PA , and General
Electric  GE.N  have filed letters saying they are interested in
providing conventional power generation equipment and carrying
out work for the Belene project, one of the sources said.
    Bulgaria cancelled Belene in 2012 after failing to find
investors and facing pressure from the United States and the
European Union to limit its energy dependence on Russia, which
had been under contract to build the plant.
    It has been sitting on unused nuclear equipment since paying
Rosatom more than 620 million euros for scrapping the project,
and in June 2018 its parliament ordered the government to revive
it.
    Sofia plans to keep a blocking stake in the venture and
participate with the site, the nuclear reactors and the acquired
licences, but would not extend state or corporate guarantees or
offer to buy electricity from the plant under long-term
contracts at preferential rates.
    The deadline for submitting letters of interest for
investing in the project expires later on Monday. A Rosatom
spokesman declined to provide any further details of the
company's application.
    ($1 = 0.9011 euros)

 (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova in Moscow and Tsvetelia Tsolova
in Sofia
Additional reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova in Moscow
Editing by Susan Fenton and David Holmes)
 ((maria.kiselyova@thomsonreuters.com; +7 495 775 1242; Reuters
Messaging: maria.kiselyova.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))