Moscow has offered Bulgaria 2 billion euros (2.7 billion dollars) to move forward on the stalled construction of a new nuclear power plant on the Danube, dpa cited officials as saying today in Sofia. The financing would take the form of a loan or an ownership stake in the plant. Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko offered the funds for the 2-gigawatt power plant, now under construction at Belene, at a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart, Traicho Traikov, in Sofia, local media said after the talks. Details are subject to negotiations, with Russian officials saying that Moscow is willing to lend money until Bulgaria selects a strategic investor, or Moscow will invest directly in the plant. The project to build Bulgaria's second nuclear plant at Belene on Danube, stalled when the main investment partner, Germany's RWE, pulled out in October. RWE was supposed to provide funds for the construction of the plant - which still has no definite price tag - in return for a 49- per-cent stake, with Bulgaria's energy corporation NEK to hold the remaining capital. Russia is offering the emergency funding to keep the construction going until a new strategic partner is selected. That will allow work by Russia's own Atomstroiexport, the plant's chief contractor, to continue. Also on Friday, Bulgaria opened a tender for a consulting firm to replace RWE and to create a new investment plan. The tender closes on March 25 and the winner is to be announced in June. Bulgaria already operates a 2-gigawatt nuclear power plant on Danube at Kozloduy.
