Bulgaria, Russia, Third Parties Strike Crucial Deal on Belene NPP
Bulgaria, Russia and third parties signed crucial memorandums on the creation of a company to construct the Belene NPP, committing to the project whose fate was not clear up to now.
The first of the agreements signed Tuesday night in Sofia is between Bulgaria's National Electric Company NEK and Russia's state company Rosatom, the parent company of Atomstroyexport.
It provides for a maximum fixed price of the Belene NPP by 2016, when the first of its two 1000 MW reactor is supposed to enter into operation, of EUR 6.298 B. NEK will have a majority stake of 51% in the Belene nuclear plant.
Of the other two memorandums, the first was signed by Russian Rosatom, the National Electric Company (NEK) and Finnish company Fortum, the other by Rosatom, NEK and French company Altran Technologies.
Earlier Tuesday Bulgarian energy Minister Traycho Traykov announced that Finnish state-owned Fortum and French consulting firm Altran Technologies are willing to participate in the Belene NPP project.
French company Altran will for now own 1% with an option to grow to 25%, while Altran will limit itself to 1%. Fortum VP Anne Brunila confirmed for Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) that for now Fortum will stay at just 1% of the equity in the project.