Bulgaria's Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev has officially opened the renovated Unit 3 in the Maritza Iztok 2 thermal power plant on Monday.

Unit 4 in the station is also planned to start working before the end of the year after renovation. The two units together would provide the additional 350 MW to the country's power network, Mr Stanishev commented.

Until April 2009 the installation of sulphur filtering systems for the units will be completed, which would let people living near the station breathe cleaner air, Environment Minister Dzhevdet Chakarov said during the opening ceremony.

In the 1990s, the power units of the Maritza complex were identified as Europe's number one environmental hotspot for sulphur pollution. Despite its dire environmental record, closing the plant down was not an option for Bulgaria taking in mind 1600MW lost in decommissioning four units of the Kozloduy nuclear plant.

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