Twelve companies, including Czech utility CEZ and the Bulgarian units of Germanys E.ON and Austrias EVN, will take part in the privatisation of the Plovdiv central heating company.
They have purchased tender documentation for the sale of 100 per cent of the electricity and heating plant in Bulgarias second-largest city, the Privatisation Agency said on August 10.
French companies Dalkia and Gaz de France, Turkeys Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Uretim and Bulgarias leading gas retailer Overgas Inc, in which Russian gas giant Gazprom holds a 50-per cent stake, have also bought tender documentation, the agency said in a statement.
The other bidders are Bulgarian-registered companies Brikel, GP Energy, Enemona, Bulgarian Energy Group and Happier Power Energy, the statement said.
The companies can file bids till October 9.
The Plovdiv steam heating plant has a registered capital of 25.9 million leva. It operates the Plovdiv North thermal power plant with an installed capacity of 214MW, a steam-heating generation unit called Plovdiv South and a heating distribution company. It runs mainly on natural gas.
Bulgaria will also try to sell its steam heating plants located in the cities of Rousse and Varna in the next few months in an effort to liberalise the domestic energy market ahead of the countrys European Union accession, scheduled for 2007.
In Sofia, a joint working group will set the share of the capitals central heating utility, which is pending privatisation, the requirements towards potential buyers and the criteria for evaluating offers.
This was also announced on August 10 by Deputy Economy and Energy Minister Anna Yaneva, upon emerging from the first meeting of the group.
Participating in the meeting were nine from the 16-member group representing Sofia municipality, Sofia City Council, the Ministry of Economy and Energy, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The establishment of the group is stipulated in a June 9 memorandum between the municipality, the ministry and the credit institutions of the company.
Its next meeting is scheduled for September 11. The group should propose a privatisation procedure by end-September.
The participants in the August 10 meeting were familiarised with an expert report and a proposal by the Privatisation Agency containing several options for the companys privatisation.
Toplofikatsia Sofia (as the name of the heating utility is) has entered the focus of public attention as its now former executive director, Valentin Dimitrov, has been charged with conducting unlawful financial operations, as a result of which he has misappropriated 1.6 million euro placed on deposit with Austrian banks.
Dimitrov was taken into custody on July 4 on charges of money laundering and tax evasion. On June 19, proceedings in connection with gross embezzlement were initiated against Dimitrov by the Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office.
