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German power giant to run Bulgarian nuclear plant: ministry
Sofia (AFP) Oct 3, 2008 Bulgaria has chosen German power giant RWE to help finance and run a new nuclear plant on the Danube, Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov announced Friday. The Bulgarian National Electricity Company's (NEC's) directors "ranked the offers for a strategic investor of the Belene plant and RWE came first," Dimitrov told a press conference. RWE was to acquire a 49-percent stake in the Belene Power Company, which will finance and run the four-billion-euro (5.5-billion-dollar) plant near the northern town of Belene, in exchange for a 1.275-billion-euro capital investment, he added. The NEC shortlisted RWE and Belgian utility company Electrabel, which is owned by France's GDF Suez, earlier this year out of six companies interested in taking over a minority stake in the Belene Power Company. "In the coming days, the two companies will also have to decide whether they will work together on the project," Dimitrov noted. He said recently that the two companies were considering forming a consortium and splitting the investment after a winner had been picked. "Our decision allows RWE to invite Electrabel to come in as a partner, as long as NEC retains a 51-percent stake," Dimitrov said. Any collaboration with the Belgian group would have to be finalised before the agreement to create the power company is signed at the end of October, he added however. The long-stalled two-reactor plant, which broke ground on September 3, is to be built by Russian company Atomstroyexport, with the first 1,000-magawatt reactor expected to be operational by January 2014 and the second a year later. The Belene Power Company will sell the energy produced at the plant using one-year contracts, Dimitrov said Thursday. RWE, which offered a 550-million-euro bonus to take part in the project, has said it will provide a 300-million euro loan to buy equipment and provide the necessary corporate and financial guarantees to creditors, the minister also noted. "RWE is ready to take on a leading role in operating and managing the plant," he added. French bank BNP Paribas was chosen as structuring bank to lead the raising and managing of funds for the Belene plant and Franco-German consortium Areva and Siemens was to provide security systems. "The construction of the Belene nuclear plant will increase the country's self-reliance and security in terms of energy," Dimitrov noted Friday. Bulgaria renewed plans in 2005 to build the plant to compensate for an expected downturn in its energy exports after the closure in late 2006 of four out of six operational reactors at Kozloduy. Formerly one of the Balkans' main energy exporters, Bulgaria slashed exports to 4.5-million-kilowatt-hours last year after agreeing to close the reactors ahead of its entry into the European Union on January 1, 2007. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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US Senate passes Indian nuclear deal
Washington (AFP) Oct 2, 2008The US Senate has endorsed a landmark US-India nuclear agreement, removing the final legislative hurdle for resumption of civilian nuclear trade between the two countries after three decades. |
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