US-based Westinghouse Electric Company has signed memoranda of understanding with three Bulgarian companies advancing the building of Kozloduy NPP Unit 7's reactor.

In an official message Westinghouse said the Bulgarian-owned entities were EnergoService Ltd., ENPRO CONSULT Ltd. and OSKAR-EL Ltd.

This is a step further into the construction of an AP1000 nuclear reactor for Kozloduy Power Plant's Unit 7 in Bulgaria.

The agreements comprise significant part of the automation, electrical control and engineering work that are to be carried out for the reactor and that, as Westinghouse has stated, are to create "sustained work for hundreds of Bulgarian engineers and technicians".

It says 3500 local workers will be involved in AP1000's construction process, while 15 000 others will be needed for the associated supply chain. The company argues regional unemployment will be reduced to nine percent, 4% down from current levels.

Westinghouse President for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Yves Brachet, hopes the project supports Bulgaria's "energy security and diversification" goals and will benefit its economy.

AP1000 reactors are presently also under construction in the US and China, four in each country.

Bulgarian-owned and -operated EnergoService is specialized in the maintenance of information and control systems, while ENPRO CONSULT is an engineering company.

OSKAR-EL deals with power supply, automation and control of the technological process in the sectors of industry, electrical power, and water.

Westinghouse announced in end-February it would work with Bulgarian subcontractors and was ready to kick off construction by 2016.

Materials needed for building the reactor will also be purchased from local producers.