Minister Stankov: With the construction of new nuclear capacities Bulgaria will guarantee its energy independence
For the Bulgarian government, the implementation of the Kozloduy NPP Unit 7 and 8 project is of strategic importance for the country and the region. With the construction of new nuclear capacities Bulgaria will guarantee its energy independence. This is what the Minister of Energy Zhecho Stankov said in a conversation with Daniel Sumner, Deputy CEO and future CEO of Westinghouse Electric Company from March 2025. The meeting was held within the framework of the working visit of Minister Stankov to the United States of America and was also attended by the Executive Director of Kozloduy NPP - New Builds Petyo Ivanov and the Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance Delyan Dobrev from the Bulgarian side and from the company side by Daniel Lipman - President of the Energy Systems Business Unit at Westinghouse, Jacques Bisneinu - Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, and Margaret Cosentino - Senior Vice President, responsible for relations with government organisations.
During the meeting, the implementation of the project was discussed and specific rates and deadlines for work were set so that its development goes according to plan. Minister Stankov stressed the need to speed up the implementation process without hindering good performance. He once again recalled that the Bulgarian side expects quality, speed and competitive price at the same time.
The Minister of Energy highlighted our country's experience in nuclear energy and insisted on the effective participation of Bulgarian companies in the construction of the seventh and eighth units at the Kozloduy NPP site.
The need for the project to comply with the Bulgarian legal framework and standards was underlined. Options for structuring the future engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project were also considered.
"A final investment decision is to be made by the end of the year and by then the financing will be secured and only then will the EPC contract be signed," he stressed. This was the main topic of the meeting between Minister Zhecho Stankov and the management of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Exim Bank). The financial structure and the provision of funds for the construction of Units 7 and 8 of Kozloduy NPP were commented on at the meeting as a guarantee for the implementation of the project.
Opportunities for securing funding for other key energy projects were also discussed.
