Bulgaria signs engineering contract for new nuclear capacity with Westinghouse and Hyundai 

An engineering contract for the construction of new capacity at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has been signed by NPP Kozloduy - New Capacities and the Westinghouse and Hyundai consortium. Within a year, the engineering design, worth between $350 million and $370 million, will determine the cost of building the new Kozloduy Unit 7.

According to the caretaker government's plans, part of the construction of the new unit will be covered by proceeds from the future sale of equipment from the cancelled Belene NPP project to Ukraine. Caretaker Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov stressed that it was becoming increasingly realistic that Bulgaria would be the first in Europe to have nuclear units based on Westinghouse's AP1000 technology.

At the signing ceremony, caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said that the new capacity project "will contribute to the diversification and stability of nuclear energy in Bulgaria and the whole of Southeast Europe".