Apr 29 - United Press International


Bulgaria has to secure $5 billion to start building a nuclear power plant of two 1,000-megawatt reactors at Belene on the Danube River, an engineer said.

Djurica Tankosic, an architect-engineer of the WorleyParsons company that works on the Belene plant project, urged the Bulgarian government to find funds as soon as possible to avoid delays in construction planed to begin this year, the Bulgarian Sofia news agency SNA said Wednesday.

Tankosic singled out two sources the Bulgarian government could be looking to obtain funding, a loan from Russia or an agreement with France's BNP Paribas bank.

BNP Paribas bank was picked by the state-run Bulgarian NEK power grid operator to help in financing arrangements.

The $5.8 billion Belene plant will be using two Russian-made reactors of third-generation. The light-water reactors are to be built by the Russian Atomstroyexport company.

The NEK power grid operator will have 51 percent of shares in the plant, and 49 percent of shares were earmarked to Germany's RWE power utility, to become a strategic partner in the project, SNA said.

Bulgaria's only nuclear power plant at Kozloduy is also on the Danube, west of Belene.