Construction of Units 3 and 4 of the Cernavodă Nuclear plant set to begin next year

The execution of Units 3 and 4 of Cernavodă will begin at the end of next year, the management of "Nuclearelectrica" said. "Nuclearelectrica""s teams of specialists along with representatives of the other investors are now working on completing the project and on refining the cost estimates.

The construction of Units 3 and 4 of the Cernavodă Nuclear Plant will require an estimated EUR 4 billion, and will take about six years to complete. Each will unit will have an installed capacity of 720 MW. The two units are expected to be commissioned in 2015-2016.

On June 30, 2009, "EnergoNuclear" (the company incorporated this year with the goal to build, commission and operate the reactors) has submitted the necessary documentation with the European Commission for the construction of Units 3 and 4. The Commission will check whether the documentation complies with the provisions of the Euratom Treaty. The favorable opinion of the European Commission is required to allow the beginning of the construction of the two nuclear units and to allow the Government to allow for a loan from Euratom.

The construction of Units 3 and 4 is currently in the preliminary project stage, which will last for 18 months after the creation of "EnergoNuclear" SA. 30 million Euros have been allocated for this stage, raised from the shareholders of "EnergoNuclear" SA. According to officials of "Nuclearelectrica", during this stage, investors will complete the commercial arrangements concerning the construction of the two units, as well as on the long term exploitation of the reactors and on securing funding. Another objective that must be completed during this period includes securing the necessary permits from the European Union. Once the execution stage of the project effectively begins, each shareholder will cover the expenses based on their stake in the company"s share capital.

Shareholders of "EnergoNuclear" include "Nuclearelectrica" (51%), CEZ Czech Republic (9.15%), ENEL Italy (9.15%), GDF Suez (9.15%), RWE Germany (9.15%), Iberdrola Spain (6.2%) and Arcelor Mittal Romania (6,2%).