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May 18, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 5
tential investor truly independent from political con- nections within Bulgaria as regards the construction of the Belene NPP.
The following month, Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Min- ister in charge of economics Tomislav Donchev said the government had received several letters from interested investors and was ready to consider the privatisation of the project.
According to Democratic Bulgaria, a newly estab- lished coalition of opposition parties, the cost of Belene’s construction would be at least BGN21bn (€10.7bn) – an expense that would seriously threat- en Bulgaria’s economic stability. The country has so far spent over BGN3bn on Belene.
It is questionable whether Bulgaria needs the new power plant, which if completed will have two 1,000
MW reactors. While it was initially seen as a re- placement for the ageing Kozloduy nuclear power plant, in January 2016 Kozloduy signed a contract to extend the lifespan of its two remaining reactors until 2049.
The Institute for Market Economics (IME), a Sofia- based think tank, claims that statistics were ma- nipulated to make it seem that investing into Belene was necessary.
Further controversy came when prosecutors charged three people in October 2016 over a sus- pect deal to sell nuclear power plant equipment
to Atomstroyexport. Former economy and energy minister Petar Dimitrov, along with two former CEOs of state-owned National Electricity Company (NEK), were charged with causing €77.2mn worth of dam- age to the Bulgarian state.
5000_WIEF_Kazakhstan_MAG AD_114x175mm_OL.ai 1 04/05/2018 12:35 PM