Russia to Guarantee Belene Nuclear Reactors Are Properly Stored

Russian energy giant Rosatom will ensure that reactors for the abandoned Belene nuclear power plant (NPP) will be properly stored after being received by Bulgaria, media outlets report.

The obligation will be sealed in a contract between Rosatom and Bulgaria's state-owned National Electricity Company, according to Capital daily. The reactors will be stored at the Belene construction site, where the plant was to be built.

Reactors are expected to be delivered in April.

There is no clarity what will be done with them in the short term after the Belene NPP project, for which they were manufactured, was abandoned by Bulgaria in 2012. The country will be handed the reactors after losing an arbitration suit and paying off more than EUR 600 M in debt to Atomstroyexport, a Rosatom subsidiary.

Sofia, on the other hand, considers reviving the project through privatization, but has not yet taken formal steps, despite reported interest from foreign companies.