The Bulgarian government has invited Croatia and Serbia to participate as stockholders in the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant on the Danube, the novinite.com news agency said on Saturday.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has written to Croatian PM Jadranka Kosor and Serbian President Boris Tadic, inviting their countries to join in the project with stocks of one, 1.5 or two per cent, the news agency said citing transcripts from a meeting of the Bulgarian government.
Borisov has said that he has already discussed the project with Tadic and that he has invited him and Kosor to respond to Bulgaria's offer by November 13, when Russian PM Vladimir Putin is due to arrive in Sofia for talks on energy.
Belene is to be built by the Russian state-owned company Atomstroyexport, but there are problems concerning the price.
According to Borisov, the participation of Croatia and Serbia would make the project more pragmatic as a market would be guaranteed once the plant was built.
According to a 2008 preliminary agreement between the Bulgarian government and Atomstroyexport, construction should have cost EUR 4 billion, but costs have grown in the meantime. Bulgaria and Russia on September 30 this year extended the agreement for six months, until the final price has been agreed. The Bulgarian government is looking for partners and investors in Europe.
