Bulgaria received 71 million euro in donations to finance ecological and energy projects related to the early closure of two Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) reactors.

An additional 39 million euro for the construction of a thermal power plant at Kozloduy will be granted by donors to the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund (KIDSF), Economy and Energy Ministry said.

Nearly 20 million euro will finance a programme for decommissioning the two 440-megawatt reactors, which Bulgaria closed at the end of 2006 as EU accession requirement. Another 11.84 million euro will finance the processing and conditioning of solid radioactive waste.

In addition, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide 55 million euro to finance Bulgaria's programme for minimising the negative impact of the early closure of the two reactors.

This money will support the construction of a gas pipeline in the town of Silistra, as well as ecological and energy-saving projects at Bulgaria's Maritsa Iztok II coal-fired power plant and national power grid operator NETC.