Bulgaria begins construction of new nuclear plant
SOFIA, BULGARIA - Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev has attended a ceremony to launch construction of the country's second nuclear power station.
The Belene plant on the Danube River will compensate for the closure of two units at the existing Kozlodui plant. State-owned NEK power utility says Belene's two 1000-megawatt reactors will be operational by 2014.
Russia's Atomstroyexport will be the main contractor, using France's Areva and Germany's Siemens as primary subcontractors.
NEK will retain control of Belene's operations with at least a 51 percent stake, while Bulgaria has already shortlisted Germany's RWE Power and Electrabel SA of Belgium as strategic investors.
Related News
Mines found at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, UN watchdog says
KYIV - The United Nations atomic watchdog said it saw anti-personnel mines at the site of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which is occupied by Russian forces.
Europe's largest nuclear facility fell to Russian forces shortly after the invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Kyiv and Moscow have since accused each other of planning an incident at the site.
On July 23 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts "saw some mines located in a buffer zone between the site's internal and external perimeter barriers," agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement on Monday.
The statement did not say how many mines…
