Russia is ready to invest in the joint-stock company for the creation of Bulgaria’s second nuclear power plant at Belene.

This was made clear Friday at a news conference in Sofia by Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, who participated in the 13th meeting of the Intergovernmental Bulgarian-Russian Commission for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

“The Russian Federation was ready to provide a credit for the execution of the Belene NPP project but this is a hard thing to do now in the state of economic crisis. In the present situation, it seems rather hard to secure state funding. In spite of that, we are interested in the realization of this project, and are having a dialogue in order to find just corporate solution that would guarantee the construction of the nuclear plant, with the Russian Federation considering the opportunities for financial aid for the project,” Shmatko declared.

He has confirmed the interest of the Russian side in becoming a part of the joint-venture for constructing the Belene NPP>

Bulgaria’s Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, Traicho Traikov, stated that the Bulgarian government want to turn the Belene nuclear plant project into one which “can happen.”

“The interest of our nation is to attract additional investors to the project, and the interest of the Russian side is to make the project happen, and therefore the participation in a joint-stock company is an option which is not ruled out,” Traikov said.

He explained that through the “appropriate structuring of the Belene deal in one or several phases” it could reach a form in which it corresponded with the vision of the Bulgarian government.

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