Bulgaria may give up the plan to build a new energy plant in hydro-power plant Maritsa Iztok 1, unless a survey shows it is necessary, Milko Kovachev, head of the State Energy and Energy Resources Agency, said on December 19. The survey on electricity market in the region is to be conducted by a sector in the National Electricity Transmission Company (NETC) during the next several years. This is the first survey of this type so far. Initially U.S.-based AES Corp. planned to start building a USD 850 M, 600 MgW plant. AES was to invest USD 225 M of own funds in the Maritsa Iztok 1 joint venture between Bulgaria`s NETC and AES. The remainder of the sum were to be sought as credit to be provided by Germany`s Kredit fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and U.S.-based Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Last week there were reports that the German KfW will not release the credit. According to experts if this proves to be true the whole financing may collapse.