Bulgaria approves Russian nuclear plant project

Russian nuclear power plant builder Atomstroyexport said on Tuesday it has received approval from Bulgarian authorities for the construction of a plant in the north of the Balkan country.

MOSCOW, July 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian nuclear power plant builder Atomstroyexport said on Tuesday it has received approval from Bulgarian authorities for the construction of a plant in the north of the Balkan country.

The state-controlled nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, which won a tender for the 3.99 billion euro ($6.3 billion) project in 2006, is to build two 1,000 MW reactors in Belene, with the first to be commissioned in late 2013 and the second in 2014.

The facility at Belene will be Bulgaria's second nuclear plant.

Atomstroyexport is currently building five nuclear power plants in China, India and Iran, under contracts worth a total of $4.5 billion.