Russia has officially voiced its
interest in the building of a seventh unit at Bulgaria's Kozloduy
nuclear power plant, the closure of which was one of the conditions for
the country's EU accession.
"If the Bulgarian government opens a tender for an investor in the
new nuclear facility, we will definitely take part in it," Genadij
Tepkyan, Vice President of Atomstroyexport told journalists in Sofia.
Bulgaria's new center-right government of GERB party announced at
the end of November that it is considering the construction of a new 1
000 MW nuclear unit at Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant.
The Russian company is the second likely bidder for the new nuclear
unit after at the end of last week the Special Envoy of the United
States Secretary of State for Eurasian Energy, Richard Morningstar make
it clear that American companies are interested in the development of
nuclear energy in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria's only nuclear plant Kozloduy has two 1,000 MW operating
units left since the closure of Soviet-designed reactors 1 to 4 was one
of the conditions for its entry in the European bloc.
Hit worst by the current Russia-Ukraine gas dispute at the beginning
of the year, Bulgaria was poised to restart one of the nuclear
reactors at its Kozloduy nuclear power plant, but abandoned the idea
when faced with vehement opposition by Brussels.