Rosatom Head: Bulgaria's Belene NPP to Return Investment Swiftly

The government delegations of Bulgaria and Russia pictured during their talks in Sofia on Nov 13, 2010. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's future second nuclear power plant Belene will take less than 20 years to return the money invested in its construction, Sergey Kiriyenko, CEO of the Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, declared in Sofia.

Kiriyenko arrived in the Bulgarian capital Saturday as part of the high-level Russian state delegation led by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Rosatom's subsidiary, Atomstroyexport, has been selected to build the first two 1000-MW reactors of Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant at Belene.

Kiriyenko emphasized that an average Russian NPP's return of investment period is 25 years-30 years, i.e. half of the lifespan of an NPP, which is 60 years.

Kiriyenko confirmed Putin's statement that Russia has offered Bulgaria a final fixed price for the construction of the Belene plant factoring in any escalation costs, as Bulgaria has requested, but that the price cannot be revealed as of yet.

According to recent hints by Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov, Bulgaria insists on a total price for Belene of no more than EUR 7 B, while Russia wants about EUR 1 B more. However, it is still unclear if the final price offer made Saturday by Putin is closer to EUR 8 B or to EUR 7 B.

Kiriyenko appears to be basing his claims that the investment in Belene NPP will be returned in less than 20 years on the final price offer made by Russia to Bulgaria during Putin's visit on Saturday, November 13, 2010.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!