Bulgaria seeks investors to build Belene nuclear plant

CNNC International

11/03/2019 12:42

SOFIA, March 11 (Reuters) - Bulgaria is seeking a strategic
investor for its revived Belene nuclear power project on the
Danube, which is estimated will cost at least 10 billion euros
($11.24 billion).
    Sofia cancelled the project 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.
    The Bulgarian energy ministry said in a statement on Monday
that it hopes to select an investor in the next year and has
asked potential bidders to file letters of interest in the
project to build two 1,000 megawatt nuclear reactors.
    Russia's state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, China's
state-owned CNNC  2302.HK , France's Framatome - a unit of EDF
 EDF.PA  and state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co (KHNP)
have expressed initial interest in the project.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1YC2CS
    Bidders are also asked to say if they will be looking for a
minority stake and whether they will be interested in buying
electricity from the plant once it is built.
    Bulgaria has been sitting on unused nuclear equipment since
paying Rosatom more than 620 million euros for scrapping the
project seven years ago and in June its parliament ordered the
government to revive the Belene project.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1T92I3
    Bulgaria 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 investors to buy out electricity from the plant under
long-term contracts at preferential rates.
    Energy Minister Temenuzka Petkova said last year that Sofia
would prefer an investor who plans to build the plant within
eight years for about 9 billion euros.
($1 = 0.8898 euros)

 (Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova and Angel Krasimirov
Editing by Alexander Smith)
 ((angel.krasimirov@thomsonreuters.com; +359 888 695 510))