The state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) is expected to sign with U.S.–based Westinghouse Electric Company in September an agreement on the first stage of the construction of a new 1,000 megawatt (MW) unit at the country's sole nuclear power plant (NPP) Kozloduy, the plant's CEO said.
The contract on the first stage of the project should be signed by September and, if the financial conditions are acceptable, actual works on preparing the site can then begin, Ivan Genov said in an interview with state-run radio broadcaster BNR.
In December, experts of Westinghouse Electric Company, Japanese multinational engineering company Toshiba Corporation and BEH, which is the NPP's owner, signed an agreement to open talks on the construction of a new unit at the plant using the Westinghouse AP1000 technology.
The Kozloduy NPP remained with two operational reactors of 1,000 MW each after the country closed down four units of 440 MW each to address nuclear safety concerns of the European Union prior to its accession to the bloc. Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. In April 2012 the government decided to add another 1,000 MW unit to the plant.
Westinghouse Electric Company is a group company of Toshiba Corporation.