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Update: Russia could win NPP tender - Bulgarian minister

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ST. PETERSBURG, June 15 (RIA Novosti) - Bulgaria's energy minister said Thursday the results of a tender to build a nuclear power plant in Belene would be announced in late July or early August, and Russia had strong chances of winning it.

"The process is going smoothly, routine talks are being held with two bidders [Russian and Czech companies], Rumen Ovcharov said.

Russian nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly Atomstroiexport and the Czech Republic's Skoda are bidding for the project.

Ovcharov said some issues in the bids were being clarified, and that the parties were discussing plant equipment and the possibility of reducing the construction timeframe.

The minister said Bulgaria was already in talks with a number of countries on future supplies of electric power to be generated by the NPP at Belene, 250 kilometers (about 150 miles) from Sofia, the capital.

Asked about the third and fourth energy units at the Soviet-designed Kozloduy nuclear plant, Ovcharov said they would be shut down late this year in line with an agreement with the European Union, which Bulgaria hopes to join in 2007.

The EU has demanded the closure of the plant, saying the facility - located 2 miles from the Danube - does not meet modern environmental safety requirements.

Built in 1974, Kozloduy is currently Bulgaria's only operating NPP. Its four reactors generate about 40% of the country's power output, part of which goes to Turkey. The other two reactors were shut down in 2002.

Russia supplies nuclear fuel for the four reactors.

"Bulgaria is not making any political moves to be able to restart the units in the future," Ovcharov said.

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