Project company to build units 3 and 4 of Cernavoda n-power plant to be established in March 2009

The project company to carry out a project for the construction of reactors 3 and 4 at the Cernavoda nuclear-power plant will be set up in March 2009. On Thursday, an investor’s agreement was initialled for the establishment of EnergoNuclear SA, the project company, which will build, commission and operate units 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda n-power plant. Initialling the agreement were officials of the Nuclearelectrica National Corporation and six investors – ArcelorMittal, CEZ, GDF SUEZ, ENEL, Iberdrola and RWE Power, in the presence of Romanian Minister of Finance and Economy Varujan Vosganian.

‘The finalisation of this project phase is a step forward toward submitting an investor’s agreement to the Romanian Government for approval and the signing of it by officials of the seven companies, which will lead to the establishment of the project company in March 2009,’ reads a press release issued on Thursday.

Nuclearelectrica will hold a 51-percent stake in the company; ArcelorMittal will control 6.2 percent of the shares; CEZ 9.15 percent; GDF SUEZ 9.15 percent; ENEL 9.15 percent; Iberdrola 6.2 percent and RWE Power 9.15 percent.

The project will be carried out in two stages. In the pre-project stage, which will last 18 months counted from the registration of the future company, technical and commercial requirements will be established, calls for bids, the engineering documentation, site works and bid assessment. At the same time, investors will draw up the commercial arrangements required for the construction of the two units, long-term operation and effective financing.

The project stage proper is estimated to cost 4 billion euros to complete and last 6 years, depending on a favourable decision of the investors. Each unit will have an installed capacity of 720 MW. The project will be notified to the European Commission, under the provisions of the Euratom Treaty.

The commissioning of the two units is scheduled for 2015-2016. The initial life of one unit is put at 30, with a possibility to lengthen it to 40.

There are two units currently operational at the Cernavoda nuclear-power plant. The first reactor was commissioned in 1996, while the second was fully commissioned in September 2007.

Nuclearelectrica is the operator of the Cernavoda nuclear-power plant and the Nuclear Fuel Factory of Pitesti. With the two nuclear facilities, Nuclearelectrica is the second largest electricity generator of Romania, covering nearly 18 percent of the domestic demand. AGERPRES