“Investors want the price evaluation to be closer to reality. We have evaluated reactors 3 and 4 at EUR4 billion,” said Alexandru Sandulescu, head of the energy department within the Economy Ministry.
The ministry official added that a lack of investors could cause authorities to build just one reactor, but this would be the more expensive and less fortunate scenario.
“The Fukushima event scared investors,” Sandulescu went on saying, adding that another reason for investor hesitation is the expectance of stress test results ordered by the European Commission.
However, according to Sandulescu, authorities have received a bid from a consortium looking to become the general contractor for the works. The consortium is run by Canadian Lavalin.
Romania’s Economy Ministry has recently extended to September 15 the deadline by which companies can bid for the development of reactors 3 and 4.
Nuclearelectrica, operator of nuclear power plant Cernavoda, is looking for new shareholders in the construction of the two reactors, after Czech CEZ, German RWE, Spanish Iberdrola and French GDF Suez walked out.
The two new reactors will have an installed power of 720 MW each and they will double the power plant’s output. The units currently running at Cernavoda cover 20% of Romania’s electricity consumption.