Bulgaria plans to give the green light to the 2,000 megawatt Belene nuclear plant on the Danube River and the expansion of Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear power plant simultaneously, the energy and economy minister has announced.

“Kozloduy and Belene projects can be developed simultaneously and independently,” Traicho Traikov said in parliament on Friday.

The statement came in reply to a question by former Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev and Traikov's predecessor concerning the new center-right government's plans in the energy sector.

Traykov said the implementation of the two projects is tied up with the investors and added that the commitment of the state as a source of funding or guarantees is out of the question.

Russia proposed last month to extend EUR 2 B of funding to Bulgaria for the construction of the stalled project until Sofia finds a strategic investor, even without corporate or state guarantees. According to unofficial information Russia plans to hold at least a 50% stake in the nuclear plant in exchange for the loan. Bulgaria is expected to reply to Russia's offer by the end of this month.

During their recent visit to Sofia, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Rosatom state nuclear corporation, announced that Rosatom was ready to extend a loan and become a shareholder in Belene plant.

Meanwhile Bulgaria's new center-right government, which has put the Belene under review due to rising costs, announced a tender for a new consultant after German utility RWE walked out of the project due to funding problems and Sofia decided to redesign it to attract new investors.

The government has abandoned plans to cut its shares from 51% to 20-30% and will aim to keep a 50% stake in the multi-billion nuclear project, which has stalled over lack of funding.

Bulgaria's government of GERB party is also considering the construction of a new 1 000 MW nuclear unit at Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, the closure of which was one of the conditions for the country's EU accession.

Bulgaria's only nuclear plant Kozloduy has two 1,000 MW operating units left since the closure of Soviet-designed reactors 1 to 4 was one of the conditions for its entry in the European bloc.

Hit worst by the current Russia-Ukraine gas dispute at the beginning of the year, Bulgaria was poised to restart one of the nuclear reactors at its Kozloduy nuclear power plant, but abandoned the idea when faced with Brussles' vehement opposition.

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