Inter-ministerial working groups will accelerate the implementation of projects for new nuclear capacities at Kozloduy NPP and the Vertical Gas Corridor
By order of Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, inter-ministerial working groups have been established to accelerate the implementation of the projects for building new nuclear capacities at Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant and the Vertical Gas Corridor. Their main objective is to facilitate the application of all legal procedures related to the projects.
The working groups that held their first meetings included representatives from the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The projects are of strategic importance for guaranteeing the energy security of our country and the region in the long term,” Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov, appointed by Order of the Prime Minister as head of the working groups, underlined.
The projects, part of the Vertical Gas Corridor initiative between Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine and Moldova, enable additional volumes of natural gas to be transported from a variety of reliable sources from south to north. Increasing natural gas transmission capacities at the Kulata/Sidirocastro Interconnection Point from Greece to Bulgaria and Interconnection Point Negru Vodă /Kardam from Bulgaria to Romania are key to fulfilling a main energy priority of the Government, namely diversification of energy sources. Part of the initiative is also the project for a high-pressure gas transmission infrastructure to supply consumers in the East Maritsa region, which is crucial in terms of providing the region with a new economic outlook.
Prioritizing these projects will help increase competition in the sector and improve conditions for all consumers, not only in Bulgaria but also throughout the region.
Nuclear energy development is a major government priority in the field of energy, which is key to successfully achieving the objectives of decarbonisation and energy security. The project for building new nuclear capacities at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant site is strategic for the country. Agreement and close coordination in the work of all the authorities involved in the project are essential for its successful implementation.