A five-judge panel of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) upheld the decision of Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency (PA) to terminate the sale of Bobov Dol thermal power plant to Greek utility company Public Power Corporation (PPC), Dnevnik daily reported on April 4.

The company had appealed an earlier decision by a three-judge panel of SAC, which ruled that the complex environmental permit for the power plant was a main criterion for striking the deal. PPC also challenged the PA's interpretation of itsbinding offer as incorrect.

The agency argued in court that PPC's refusal to sign the contract with the obligation to observe the directive for the big fuel installations was against the law. The privatisation authority said it signed a preliminary contract with the thermal power plant's coal suppliers. The company said that the environmental permit had a negative impact on the signing of the contract after the final offer was signed.

PPC had offered 71 million euro for 100 per cent of Bobov Dol power plant shares. Talks with the PA lasted nine months and were extended several times. The court believes that the buyer of the power plant was informed about the European environmental requirements and the permissible emissions' norm.

As previously reported, the Privatisation Agency called in mid-March a new tender to sell Bobov Dol power plant. On April 1, PPC warned it would challenge the new tender in court.