Bulgaria, Russia agree to start building nuclear plant

Bulgaria and Russia have agreed to start building a nuclear power plant in the Bulgarian town of Belene this autumn, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said on Saturday (February 20th), after a trip to Sofia for talks with Bulgarian counterpart Traycho Traykov. Shmatko added that a series of details were discussed, particularly Russia’s readiness to provide financial assistance until a strategic investor is found. Russia will finance construction of the plant through a project company established for this purpose and is ready to invest 1.9 billion euros over a period of two years. Efforts to build the plant have stalled a number of times.