Areva Shows Interest in Bulgaria's Belene NPP Project - Energy Min
French energy group Areva is interested in the project for the construction of Belene nuclear power plant in Bulgaria, energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova said on Thursday, shortly after the parliament in Sofia moved to revive the abandoned project. "Bulgaria's energy ministry has an official letter from Areva, in which the company says it is interested in participating in the Belene NPP project and has the support of the French government," Petkova said in an interview aired live by Bulgarian public television BNT. Areva participated in the project for the construction of a 2,000 MW nuclear power plant in Belene as a sub-contractor of Russia's Atomstroyexport for the delivery of equipment before the Bulgarian government cancelled the project in 2012 due to disagreement over its estimated cost and failure to attract a strategic investor. The Bulgarian government recently received a letter of interest in the project by another company and its name will be announced soon, while China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and Russia's Rosatom are also interested, Petkova added.