The Bulgarian Cabinet Approved Procedure with 9 Stages for Selection of Investor in Belene NPP

At the earliest - in a year, a project company will be created, which will seek funding for the construction of the Belene NPP and will structure the project. This was made clear by a statement of the Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova after the meeting of the government, where she presented the ready procedure for selection of a strategic investor for the future nuclear power plant. The procedure includes 9 stages and will last for a minimum of 12 months.
 
The procedure for choosing a strategic investor to build a Belene NPP foresees, as a start, the publication of an invitation to participate in the official EU newspaper and in two Bulgarian daily newspapers.
 
Potential shareholders wishing to acquire a minority stake in the future project company can participate in the procedure as well as their interest in procuring large electricity consumers from Bulgaria and the region through electricity purchase contracts.
 
The Minister, Temenuzhka Petkova reminded that the future project does not provide for a state or corporate guarantee and there is no provision for a long-term power purchase contract on the part of the state.
 
In the first stage of the procedure, namely the public call, such an invitation will be given to the three companies that have so far officially declared their interest in this procedure. They are from China, France and South Korea. As well as the designer of the project and potential big consumers of electricity.

 
There are eight more steps, and if they develop seamlessly, after 12 months there will be a company that will start looking for financing for the Belene NPP and will work on the structuring of the project.