On February 16th, 2009 the first module of the concrete plant which started to produce concrete for Belene NPP construction in Bulgaria was put into operation.
The concrete production plant is located on Belene NPP construction Site and consists of two modules of capacity of 100 cubic meters of concrete per hour. Commissioning of the second module is scheduled for late February 2009.
Construction of the concrete plant and provision of Belene NPP Site with the ready-mix concrete for the period of the whole construction is in the scope of responsibility of Atomstroyexport JSC subcontractor - SD "Mistral-TSS-Stoyanova, Stoyanov" Bulgarian company, with which the relevant contract has been concluded.
Commissioning of the concrete plant is carried out as per the schedule in order to ensure active continuation of civil works at the Site.
Signing of Addenda 6 and 7 to the Agreement of November 29th, 2006 that are under consideration in the Ministry of Economy and Energy of Bulgaria at present is expected till the time of first concreting. Delaying of the terms of signing of these documents may threaten with frustration of the civil work schedule and a rise in the price of NPP Construction Project.
Since the Russian and Bulgarian Parties are equally interested in a successful course of Belene NPP construction, the situation is to be resolved in the short term, and there are no doubts that the documents that are of such an importance for project implementation will be signed.
The Agreement between NEK of Bulgaria and Atomstroyexport JSC was signed on November 29th, 2006 in Sofia for implementation of Belene NPP Construction Project. According to this Agreement Atomstroyexport JSC is responsible for preparation of the Contract on engineering, procurement and construction, as well as for implementation of the scheduled preparatory works for Belene NPP construction.
The Contract Agreement for Belene NPP construction was signed between Atomstroyexport JSC and NEK of Bulgaria on January 18th, 2008 within the framework of an official visit of President of the Russian Federation to Bulgaria. Project total cost is 3,997 billion Euro.
To ensure continuity of the works under the project, at absence of the confirmed financing in full scope, the Parties have made a decision to prepare and sign Addenda Nos. 6 and 7. They concern deliveries of the first-priority equipment, working documentation and performance of civil and erection works in 2009, as well as volumes and cost of the equipment to be delivered by AREVA NP and Siemens companies in 2009.
Texts of these Addenda and Appendices thereto, except for Appendix "Escalation Formulas" with regard to which the Parties had disagreements, were approved and initialed as a result of negotiations between Atomstroyexport JSC and NEK of Bulgaria.
Atomstroyexport is guided by Addendum 5 which became effective on December 31st, 2008 and approves the principles of escalation based on EUROSTAT indexes for Bulgaria. However now the Bulgarian Party attempts to reconsider this principle and to use EUROSTAT indexes for the European Union. The position of Atomstroyexport JSC is signing of Addenda Nos. 6 and 7 with consideration of the arrangements that are already available.
Atomstroyexport JSC (ASE JSC) is a leading state engineering company that is subordinate to the State Corporation "Rosatom" implementing intergovernmental agreements on construction of nuclear power facilities abroad. At present Atomstroyexport JSC executes orders that make up more than 20% of the world market volume, and it is the only company which implements contracts on NPP construction simultaneously in four countries - China, India, Iran and Bulgaria. Atomstroyexport JSC is supported by fifty-year experience of the Russian nuclear industry in its activities and constructs new generation NPPs that fully meet international requirements and IAEA recommendations.
SOURCE: Atomstroyexport
DATE: February 17, 2009
Topics: Russia, Atomstroyexport, Bulgaria, NPP Belene