Bulgaria’s government began construction of two nuclear reactors using US technology, signing the first major contract worth about $350 million, according to Euractiv.
Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov said the deal made the nuclear project irreversible. The contract was signed between the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant and a consortium of US-based Westinghouse and South Korea’s Hyundai as the builder.
Malinov stated that by the end of next year, the government would know the final cost of the project and its economic feasibility. Bulgaria would then sign a contract for the construction of the nuclear reactors and their installation.
The first of the two new nuclear reactors is set to produce electricity in 2034. Ultimately, the reactors are expected to cost more than $14 billion. The government may receive $8 billion in financing from US export bank Exim Bank and a similar loan from South Korean institutions. Malinov said the US Exim Bank would finance Westinghouse and Bulgarian subcontractors, while South Korea would support Hyundai and Korean companies involved in the project.
Bulgaria expects at least $700m from the sale of two Russian nuclear reactors to Ukraine to support its new nuclear project. Meanwhile, the Kyiv authorities need the two Russian reactors, which are owned but not used by Bulgaria, to complete the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant.
However, the Bulgarian nuclear project must be notified to the European Commission, which must approve the construction of the two new US reactors. Elias Gedion of Westinghouse Electric Company said that the US company had been working with Kozloduy NPP for 25 years to modernise Units V and VI and replace fresh nuclear fuel.
