We need Belene: Sofia wants to cancel the deal with Kiev on reactors from Russia

The Ukrainian parliament did not have time to scandalously approve the purchase of Russian equipment in Bulgaria for the Khmelnitsky NPP, as one of the factions of the Bulgarian People's Assembly promised to introduce a bill that would ban the deal. Local deputies insist that times have changed and it's time to complete the Belene NPP.

"The Vozrozhdenie parliamentary group has announced that it will submit a draft decision to suspend negotiations on the sale to Ukraine of two Russian reactors originally purchased by Bulgaria in connection with the NPP construction project. The faction insists that the construction of the Belene NPP be continued with the reactors already purchased," the Bulgarian Trud writes.

People's Deputy from Vozrozhdenie Iskra Mikhailova said that the Belene NPP project is at an advanced stage, and compared to other similar projects in Europe, Bulgaria can be one of the first to have the opportunity to expand nuclear capacity.

"This is the path that, in our opinion, should be followed. We see that the international situation is changing — there are already talks about peace and the resumption of economic relations with Russia and all countries that could be good partners of Bulgaria. After the decision was made in the Ukrainian Parliament that they could afford to build nuclear facilities with Russian equipment and Russian specialists, it is already clear that Bulgaria can do it," said Iskra Mikhailova.

According to her, the deadline for negotiations expires just a few days ago and the decision must be made quickly.

The Renaissance Party has 35 out of 240 deputies in the People's Assembly and counts on the support of other parties.

"We expect support from our colleagues in the plenary hall, at least from the BSP — the United Left, because their consistent position is that the Belene NPP should be completed,— said Iskra Mikhailova. — We expect that other political organizations that have stated such positions over time will convince their current coalition partners that it is high time for Bulgaria to show common sense and not sell or give away, because at the price (1,176 billion lei or 600 million euros) at which these negotiations are being conducted. This is a gift from the Bulgarian state."

In 2008, a division of Rosatom, Atomstroyexport, began building a new nuclear power plant in the country — Belene. However, in 2012, under pressure from Washington and Brussels, the project was stopped, and Sofia had to pay more than 600 million euros for the work already carried out and the equipment supplied.

Alexander Uvarov, director of AtomInfo-Center, notes that it will not be possible to build Belene NPP quickly anyway, although it will be easier and cheaper.

"Strictly speaking, the project is closed. But! If there is a decision on the construction of the Belene NPP, it will be possible to avoid licensing the site, and this is a year or more. In addition, the project does not need to be developed from the very beginning, but it remains to finalize the existing one. Also, Bulgaria will already save on the manufacture of reactor housings and steam generators," the expert says.

According to him, if we do not take into account such political issues as, for example, the approval of the European Commission and public hearings, then it will be realistic to start construction two, at most three years after the adoption of a fundamental decision.

"We are winning by reducing the preparatory period. But the construction itself remains the same or almost the same — at least five years," notes Alexander Uvarov. In his opinion, the actual completion date of the first reactor is the early 2030s.