Economy and Energy Minister Rumen Ovcharov (C) and Atomstroyexport head Sergey Shmatko (R) celebrated the signing of the contract with a glass of champagne. Photo by Nadya Kotseva (Sofia Photo Agency)
Bulgaria's National Electricity Company officially signed the preliminary contract for constructing its second Nuclear Power Plant in Belene.
Russian Atomstroyexport landed the contract in a tender and its head Sergey Shmatko put his signature together with that of NEC Chief Manager Lyubomir Velkov and the company's CEO Mardik Papazyan.
Economy and Energy Minister Rumen Ovcharov and France's Ambassador to Sofia Yves Saint-Geours also attended the signing in the Council of Ministers.
Shmatko vowed that his company would start working on the plant's construction right away. Atomstroyexport has to build two 1,000 MW light-water reactors in Belene for the price of nearly EUR 4 M.
The other bidder in the tender - Czech Skoda Alliance - did not object the final decision, leaving no obstacles before the launch of the project for Bulgaria's second Nuclear Power Plant.