The "Maritsa Iztok" mines received Thursday a EUR 15 M grant to increase the energy efficiency of the mining operations.

The CEO of the"Maritsa Iztok" (Maritsa East) mines, Ivan Markov, and the Deputy Director of the Department for Nuclear Safety of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Balthasar Lindauer, signed Thursday in Radnevo an agreement for the grant from the EBRD-administered Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund.

Another EUR 19,5 M grant will contribute to the rehabilitation and modernization of the Maritza East 2 Thermal Power Plant (TPP) through the installation of gypsum dewatering systems for units 1-6 and construction of a cooling pump station.

The Maritza East 2 power plant is the largest TPP in Bulgaria based on vast local deposits of lignite coal. To improve environmental standards and energy efficiency the power plant is currently undergoing extensive refurbishment and rehabilitation. The EBRD has supported these efforts with loans exceeding EUR 70 M.

The Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund is one of the three international decommissioning funds managed by the EBRD and is supporting the Bulgarian authorities with the decommissioning of units 1-4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. The scope of the fund also includes the promotion and support of projects which modernise and improve energy use in Bulgaria.

Established in 2001, the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund has received contributions from the European Community, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Units 1 and 2 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant were shut down in 2002 and units 3 and 4 in 2006.

Today the work of the fund is focused on financing decommissioning facilities in particular for the storage of spent fuel and the management of radioactive waste.

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