The frozen construction site of Belene NPP. Photo by BGNES.
Russia and Bulgaria are now considering inviting a third country in the construction of the Belene NPP in Bulgaria.
Bulgarian and Russian PMs Boyko Borisov and Vladimir Putin discussed over the phone the development of the Belene NPP project and the possibility to include in it "third countries that have a great experience in nuclear power," according to a realease by the Russian cabinet.
One such country that has been named up to now is China. It has expressed interest both in providing technology and in giving a loan to Serbia, which itself has expressed interest in participating in the project.
No specific agreements have been signed this far with either China or Serbia, with Serbian minister of energy Petar Skudric having stated he is expecting a formal proposal from the Bulgarian side in the coming weeks.
Initially, German company RWE was a side to the project, but withdrew over allegedly unfavorable conditions end of 2009.
Bulgaria's center-right GERB government has repeatedly been stating that it is looking for a "European" and "strategic" investor.
For now, it has a contract with Russian company Atomstroyexport to build the power station.