On November 29 Bulgaria would sign a four billion euro contract with Russia's Atomstroyexport for the construction of Belene nuclear power plant (NPP), Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Roumen Ovcharov said.
Two other companies, French Areva and German Siemens, would also participate in the construction, BusinessWeek reported.
The NPP will consist of two 1000-megawatt reactors. The first unit will be constructed in 6.5 years.
Nearly 50 per cent of Atomstroyexport was controlled by gas giant Gazprom, BusinessWeek said. The Russian company won the tender launched by Bulgaria ahead of a Czech consortium Skoda Allianz.
The National Electric Company (NEC) of Bulgaria said that the main reasons for the selection of Atomstroyexport were “the higher safety and the longer term of operation of the reactors”.
