The period for the construction of Belene Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was shortened by two years. Skoda Alliance is able to construct Belene NPP in eight years, instead of the initially planned ten, Miroslav Fiala, general director of Skoda JS said on May 31 in an interview with the Bulgarian-language daily Pari. Fiala’s comment referred to the recently reported information in Bulgarian-language media that Bulgaria’s national power grid operator National Electricity Company (NEC) asked Skoda Alliance to shorten its commissioning plan to six years for the first unit and eight years for the second. Skoda Alliance is one of the two bidders in the tender for building a two GW nuclear plant at Belene.

The other bidder is Russia ‘s AtomStroyExport, which envisages even quicker construction terms in some of its alterative proposals. NEC is expected to name the winner in the tender by the end of June and to sign a final contract shortly thereafter. Construction is expected to start before the end of the year, given that the project does not face any administrative or court barriers.