Bulgaria Allocates BGN 14 M for Nuclear Referendum

Bulgaria's Cabinet has formally allocated a total of BGN 13.8 M for the holding of a referendum on the future of the construction of a second nuclear power plant in Bulgaria in January 2013.

At its weekly meeting Wednesday, the Bulgarian government adopted the report estimating the costs of holding the nuclear referendum scheduled for January 27, 2013, the government press service announced Tuesday.

The referendum was initiated by the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party over the fate of the Belene NPP, a project for building a second NPP in Bulgaria, which was supposed to be constructed by Russia's Atomstroexport.

The Socialists managed to collect almost 800 000 signatures of Bulgarian citizens, with at least 500 000 required for holding a referendum, an initiative they started after in March 2012 the right-wing government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the GERB party abandoned the project after years of uncertainty over securing funding.

Of the BGN 13.8 M that will be spent on the holding of what will become Bulgaria's first national referendum after 1989, BGN 600 000 will come from the 2012 State Budget, and will be spent by the end of December for the organization of the vote, while the rest is included in Bulgaria's 2013 State Budget.

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