Bulgarian state-owned electricity company NEK has awarded Russia's Atomstroyexport a contract to build a second nuclear plant in Belene.
Atomstroyexport beat a rival tender from Skoda Alliance to win the contract, which will see it design, construct and commission units 1 and 2 of the NPP Belene plant.
The new plant will use variant A92 (two B466 reactor units), which NEK said were chosen for the significant margins in safety characteristics and features, lower risk of unforeseen extensions of the construction schedule or licensing complications, and use of new technologies with a longer operational lifetime (60 years).
The contract win comes after both companies were told to amend their bids, which were initially filed in February but dubbed unsatisfactory by Bulgaria’s Ministry of Economy and Energy.