“Today marks a major milestone in the advancement and ultimately completion of Romania’s strategic Cernavoda NPP Units 3 and 4 project. The EPCM contract represents the very foundation of the project (…) Units 3 and 4, CANDU technology, will provide Romania with energy security and clean energy in a safe and sustainable manner. Once Units 3 and 4 are connected to the grid, 66% of Romania’s clean energy will be provided by nuclear energy, showcasing, one more time, the critical role of nuclear energy in deep decarbonization (…),” Nuclearelectrica CEO Cosmin Ghita said.
The contract price for both the LNTP and subsequent FNTP phase of the EPCM contract is estimated at EUR3,2 billion.
The EPCM contract, with an estimated duration of 108 months, is structured in two phases, namely the Limited Notice to Proceed (LNTP) phase (24-30 months) and later, subject to commercial terms being further refined and agreed and the Final Investment Decision being taken in in line with the Support Agreement between the Romanian State and SNN, the Final Notice to Proceed (FNTP) phase (80-84 months).
It provides for EPCM-type services such as: design services required for developing specific types of documentation, project development and management services, engineering services, procurement assistance services, technical assistance services up to the commissioning of the Units and quality assurance and development of an integrated quality assurance system, applied in the Contractor’s offices and also on site.
Through the development of the CANDU Units 3 and 4 Project, Romania will reach about 19,000 indirectly generated jobs, and the contribution of nuclear energy in the total national energy production level will reach 33%, considering an increase in consumption of 2.1% per year. A total of 20 million tons of CO2 will be avoided annually with 4 units in operation. In addition to the positive impact on energy stability and the achievement of decarbonization targets, nuclear power projects also contribute to the development of the domestic supply chain.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)