Westinghouse presented its potential at a conference in Sofia

At a conference in Sofia Westinghouse presented its potential in relation to the decision of the Bulgarian Energy Holding to enter into negotiations with the company for the upcoming construction of the 7th block of Bulgaria’s NPP Kozloduy. The forum, organized in partnership with the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was also attended by the U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria, Hon. Ms. Marcie Ries, Japanese Ambassador H.E. Mr. Takashi Koizumi, business representatives from the USA, Japan and Bulgaria, and distinguished energy experts. The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry was represented by President Tsvetan Simeonov.

“The construction of a nuclear facility of this magnitude will give significant impetus to providers of concrete, steel and components“, said at the opening of the forum U.S. Ambassador Hon. Ms. Marcie Ries. “According to data of the Institute of Nuclear Energy of the United States, each new reactor requires about 400.000 cubic yards of concrete – as much as it is needed to build the Pentagon, and electric cables from here to Varna“, she added.  Ambassador Ries underlined that, as a secondary result of the project, Bulgaria will become part of the Global Supply Chain, and it will use American and Japanese technologies and standards. The need of specialists will lead to the promotion of trainings of engineers and other specialists, and will give opportunities for educational exchange.

BCCI President Tsvetan Simeonov shared his impression from the meeting with representatives of Westinghouse, that they are willing to work with high transparency for the public, and underlined that it is important for any market economy. “We can see from their current practice that they largely involve local subcontractors“, noted Mr. Tsvetan Simeonov and expressed hope that more Bulgarian companies would benefit of the opportunity and perform well. “For us it is important that having more energy producers in Bulgaria, pursuant to the market principles, we would have lower energy costs”, added President Simeonov.