The project Belene NPP was started in 1981 when the government decided to build 6 nuclear units by the Danube river. When the communist rule was over it became clear that the project was not economically viable therefore it was dropped in 1992.
The Bulgarian Academy of Science published a research called “The white book” in which detailed arguments were given showing the seismic risk and the lack of economical viability of the project.
11 years later, in 2003 the project was revived – the idea this time was to build 2 new reactor blocks (1000 MW each).
Belene nuclear power plant project costs EUR 10,352,000,000 in total, including the infrastructure. This is the price that has to be paid until the moment the plant is set into operation, Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Delyan Dobrev said at an extraordinary press conference, cited by FOCUS News Agency.
According to the minister the above mentioned price does not including balancing units.