ARBITRATION COURT ORDERS BULGARIA TO PAY 1.1 BILLION BGN TO RUSSIAN "ROSATOM" OVER CANCELLED NUCLEAR PROJECT

Bulgaria will have to pay 1.1 billion BGN (550 mln. Euros) to the Russian company "Rosatom" for cancelling the project for construction of the Nuclear Powerr Plant "Belene". This was announced by the Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova at a press conference on 16th of June. The amount was awarded by the court of arbitration in Paris, where the case had been brought in 2013. According to Russian media, however, the payment amount is 620 million euros.

Minister Petkova has explained that the decision of the arbitration court arrived at the e-mail of the National Electricity Company late in the evening on 15th of June and on first reading, the payable amount is for the ordered reactors for the Nuclear Plant. She has further explained that after the payment is made, NEC will become owner of assets, which will be available to it. It is not clear yet where Sofia would take the money for the payment.

So far, “Rosatom” has built one reactor completely and part of a second one for the NPP “Belene”, it became clear at the press conference. Bulgaria’s NEC commissioned the production of the equipment to “Rosatom” in 2008. Bulgaria cancelled the project for the construction of the second NPP in February 2013 after a decision of the National Assembly.

Rosatom’s initial claim was for 2,5 billion BGN. The arbitration court in Paris satisfied half of the sum. According to the court’s decision, Bulgaria does not owe indemnities to Russia for loss of profits resulting from the suspension of the plant.

Bulgaria also filed a claim to the arbitration in Geneva for indemnity of 120 million euros for unredeemed equipment. BNT asked what the progress on this claim was, but Minister Petkova did not answer.