The Russian side is worried that the construction of Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant at Belene might be terminated in 2010 over the lack of funding.

This was reported Wednesday night by the Bulgarian National Television which cites unnamed sources from the Atomexportstroy - the company chosen to build the Belene plant.

The negotiations for a Russian government credit of EUR 4 B for the construction of the NPP are reported to have been stopped. The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin approved the Bulgarian request for a credit made in April.

At the beginning of July 2009, the Russian Ministry of Finance has sent a letter to the Bulgarian government inquiring about the interest of the Bulgarian side in the offered Russian loan, and still has received no reply.

During a recent meeting between the Atomexportstroy Vice President Genadiy Tepkyan, and Bulgarian diplomats, the Russians said the Bulgarian government had to make a decision on the request of a Russian credit for Belene by the end of August 2009.

Otherwise, Atomexportstroy would not be able to include the projected expenses in its next year's budget, and the construction of the plant would be stalled.

The Russian side has also expressed its concern about the slow procedures for granting work permits to the 850 Russian specialists who are supposed to arrive at Belene in 2010. The standard procedure takes three months but if there are delays, this might hinder the start of the construction.

In an article dedicated to the Belene NPP project, the Russian newspaper Vedomosti points out that there were no indications that Bulgaria would pull out of the Belene project. Vedomosti claims that the Bulgarian National Electric Company NEK and the Germany company RWE, which will own 49% of the future plant, were keeping the work on securing the necessary funding.

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