Amid Court Claims, Russia Offers 'Unique Bargain' for Bulgarian Belene NPP

Business » ENERGY | December 6, 2011, Tuesday // 17:53
Bulgaria: Amid Court Claims, Russia Offers 'Unique Bargain' for Bulgarian Belene NPP Rosatom's director Sergey Kiriyenko and Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Energy Traicho Traikov at negotiations for Belene NPP in November 2010. Photo by BGNEs

Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom's price offer for Bulgarian Belene NPP is spectacularly low and Bulgaria should hasten to accept it, said Rosatom's vice-director Kirill Komarov.

"Taking into account the raging economic crisis in Europe, we have made a very attractive proposal for Belene. It is hard to believe that we will ever make such a unique proposal to another country," said Komarov as reported by the Bulgarian National Radio Tuesday.

The Bulgarian and Russian parties have been long disputing the final price for the Belene NPP, with Bulgaria arguing that Russia's proposal of EUR 6.3 B is way to high, and setting a ceiling of EUR 5 B.

"Given our proposal, Bulgaria will have to invest not a penny more than it already has, getting in return 51% ownership over a brand new NPP," commented Rosatom's vice director.

In the past months, Rosatom and Bulgaria's National Electric Company NEK filed two independent claims against each other at European arbitration courts over the much-delayed Belene NPP project.

Rosatom's EUR 58 M claim filed July at a court in Paris demands damages over delayed payments for equipment by the Bulgarian party.

In October, NEK filed a EUR 61 M claim at a court in Geneva against alleged delayed buying back of old equipment for Belene by the Russian party.

End of September, Rosatom and NEK had agreed on a 14th annex to their contract for Belene NPP, allowing them to extend the deadline for final agreement on the project unitl March 2012.

Tuesday Rosatom's Komarov stated, as reported by the Bulgarian National Radio, that the Russian company is "ready to wait as long as necessary" until an agreement for the financing of the project is reached.

He also reiterated the willingness of Russia's Rosatom to single-handedly finance the finishing of Belene NPP.

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Tags: Belene NPP, Rosatom, Kirill Komarev, Kirill Komarov, claim, claims, nuclear energy, Russia, Russian, NPP, Belene, NEK, National Electric Company

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