Media speculation and top officials statements in the past week have threatened the future of the construction of Bulgarias second nuclear power plant at Belene, on the Danube.
The tender for the construction of Belene will be terminated if the bidders, Czech Skoda Alliance and Russian Atomstroy, do not sweeten their offers, Economy and Energy Minister Roumen Ovcharov said.
The National Electric Company (NEC) has recently demanded a shorter construction period and a lower price.
According to media, the talks on Belene are linked to the negotiations with the Russian gas major Gazprom for changes to the contract for supply of Russian gas.
At the moment, there is no reason to terminate the procedure for completing the construction of the nuclear power plant at Belene, NEC executive director Lyubomir Velkov told the media on July 26.
Negotiations are underway with the bidders on improving their financial proposals.
Velkov is optimistic that the negotiations will lead to agreement on a mutually acceptable arrangement. Three investors show interest in the nuclear plant project, he said.
The analysis shows that the existing equipment and the infrastructure built on the Belene site, which can be used as NECs contribution to the project, cost about 500 million leva.
About 60 per cent of the basic equipment on the site is usable; the exact share will become clear after completion of negotiations with the bidders.
Velkov forecasted that a contract will be concluded with the successful bidder before the end of 2006. In his words, the negotiations with the Russian company Gazprom on natural gas deliveries to Bulgaria have nothing to do with the procedure for choosing the contractor for the Belene plant project.
The state has decided to keep its majority interest in the Belene nuclear power plant project, Ovcharov said at a conference on Bulgaria and Energy Security Policy.
Per him, possibilities will be sought for institutional support through a loan from the European Atomic Energy Agency, although in the last 20 or 25 years it has not provided any loan through the European Investment Bank for the construction of nuclear power facilities and the procedure involved of getting such a loan is unclear.
In Ovcharovs words, the European Commission has been asked to assist in clarifying the procedures, but the chance of receiving a loan is slight.
The remaining 49 per cent of the plant will be offered to a strategic investor, he said.
The best evidence of the efficiency of the project is the great investor interest, Ovcharov said. According to him, there are at least two big investors willing to acquire majority interest in the plant.
On July 28, the Russian news agency Interfax reported that the Czech Skoda Alliance consortium might lower the price on its tender bid following negotiations held in Bulgaria.
We have discussed the question of price during our negotiations with the investor, state-owned energy firm NEC, and we have decided to take some time to eventually revaluate our offer, Belene project bid manager Roman Zdebor of Skoda Alliance told Interfax.
The main issues discussed with the Czech bidders during the latest meeting were price and time scheduling adjustments.
We have again discussed Skoda Alliances approach regarding the NECs demand on shortening of the time schedule and also price optimisation, which is connected, said Zdebor.
