Bulgaria has time until the spring to decide on its participation in the Belene Nuclear Power Plant and sign a contract with Russia for the creation of a project campaign, Sergey Kiriyenko, CEO of the Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, said in Moscow.

Kiriyenko told Bulgarian media that if the deadline is not met, the contractor on the project, Atomstroyexport, will redirect the equipment for the Belene NPP to another nuclear project and Russia will refuse to become a shareholder in the Bulgarian plant.

In his words, during the official visit of the Russian PM Vladimir Putin in Sofia, Moscow has demanded to have about 30-40% stake in the project and would not agree on less than 25%.

Kiriyenko has stated that there was still a chance that Belene NPP is not realized.

“Russia will not lower the Belene NPP price to EUR 5 B, as demanded by the Bulgarian government,” the Rosatom CEO said.

He has pointed out that the real price of the plant is at least EUR 6,7 B, but was lowered to EUR 6,4 B during the bilateral negotiations.

“If Russia makes any more compromises in this direction, the project would be built at a loss,” Kiriyenko said.

He explained that the most difficult and complex demand, presented by Bulgaria’s PM Boyko Borisov, was to transform the variable price, based on inflation, into a fixed price.

“We thought a lot about this, we did not like this demand by the Bulgarian government, but we accepted it in the end. This is not a bargain for 5, 10 or 20 billion, but is rather a matter of accounts and calculations, so the cost of EUR 5 B is meaningless and no one will discuss it,” Kiriyenko said.

He pointed out that the Belene NPP project has advanced a lot and its equipment is ready. In his words, however, if Bulgaria continues to delay its decision on the project after the spring of 2011, then the equipment would be given to another country – China or Turkey, and Bulgaria will have to pay much more if it orders it later.

The Rosatom CEO said that the plant would be paid for about 19 years and would bring profit for 40 years after that because a deficit of electricity is expected on the Balkans in the next years.

According to Kiriyenko’s calculations, the construction of Belene NPP could be started in September 2011 and the first reactor could start operating in 2016.

“I am convinced in the profitability of the Belene project and we are ready to become 100% shareholders in it, but I am not sure we will be allowed to,” he said.

He noted that the project has triggered interest from Western European investor, as well as from neighbor countries to Bulgaria, like Serbia and Macedonia. Kiriyenko said that the project was very good and that Russia would be sad if it had to abandon it.

“Negotiating with the Bulgarian government is really difficult. This is why there is a risk,” he said.

Kiriyenko will visit Sofia on November 30 to meet with Borisov and continue the negotiations about Belene NPP. The two are expected to agree on the exact price for the construction of the plant.

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