The Bulgarian government has been forced to search for alternative sources of financing for the construction of Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant in Belene.

Minister of Economy and Energy, Petar Dimitrov, announced that according to initial plans, Germany's energy giant RWE, which won the tender for constructor, was supposed to start financing the project as soon as the joint venture with Bulgaria's National Electric Company was founded. But it now appears that RWE have changed their minds.

The RWE bosses now say that the company will start financing the project only after it is completely structured, which is expected to happen in 2010 at the earliest. For this reason the Bulgarian government has started seeking alternative sources of financing, including Russia, Dimitrov continued, cited by Bulgarian National Radio.

Last week Dimitrov paid a visit to Moscow, where he held talks with Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko and Sergey Kirienko the President of the Russian State Nuclear Power Corporation Rosatom.

Dimitrov reminded that Russian PM Vladimir Putin said that his country could allot EUR 3.8 B for the Belene NPP when he visited Sofia last year.

During Dimitrov's visit to Moscow it also transpired that Russia firmly supports the realization of South Stream natural gas pipeline project and is considering an expansion of its throughput capacity, which currently amounts to about thirty billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.

Dimitrov also said that the Bulgarian government is in negotiations over new contracts for the supply of Russian natural gas without intermediaries. The question about Russia taking the responsibility for possible halts in the gas supply to Bulgaria in the future was also raised.