Bulgarian regulator to hold Kozloduy tender

Bulgaria's nuclear regulatory agency (BNRA) plans to use €3 million ($3.42 million) in funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for its role in the decommissioning of units 1-4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. The money will come from the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund that is administered by the London-based bank.

The bank said on 30 June it will open a tender in the third quarter of this year for the provision of technical support for the work at the plant, including the management of radioactive waste. This support is expected to start early next year and take 18 months to complete, it said.
The support will help BNRA assess licensee documentation, develop its regulatory framework in line with European Union best practice, and improve its capacity in the decommissioning and waste management sectors.

During European Union accession negotiations, Bulgaria committed to closing Kozloduy 1 and 2 by the end of 2002 and units 3 and 4 by the end of 2006. All four units are V-230 model VVER-440 reactors, which the European Commission had earlier classified as non-upgradable. However, units 3 and 4 were of an improved design and closer to the later V-213 design than any others of their class. Despite a 2005 opinion poll showing 75% support for keeping the two reactors running, the government finally ordered them to be shut down at the end of December 2006. Bulgaria joined the EU on 1 January 2007.

In November 1999, the Bulgarian Government and the European Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding, according to which the government undertook a firm commitment to close and decommission the four units. The Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund was established to support the decommissioning activities and to mitigate the negative consequences of the units' early closure.

The Kozloduy plant is situated close to the Danube River border with Romania.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News