CGN 'qualified investor' in Cernavoda

Wednesday, 10 September 2014

China General Nuclear (CGN) has submitted the sole non-binding bid for the contract to build two new reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania.

The bid marks completion on 8 September of the first phase of the investor selection procedure run by state-owned nuclear utility Nuclearelectrica.

CGN has been declared a "qualified investor" in the project and must submit a binding bid for the work by 24 September, Daniela Lulache, CEO of Nuclearelectrica, said yesterday. The two companies may sign an agreement to create a project company for the reactors by the end of this year, she said.

"The Qualified Investor fully complies with the requirements provided in the qualification documentation [in terms of] the technical and nuclear safety standards and also the financing capability for such a project, which is essential for the development of a new nuclear project," Lulache said. Nuclearelectrica has achieved a high standard of operation at units 1 and 2, and will maintain this performance with units 3 and 4, she said.

Nuclearelectrica will be a minority shareholder in the project.

CGN and its subsidiary China Nuclear Power Engineering Company (CNPEC) recently signed agreements that would see them cooperate in the construction and financing of new Candu units at Romania's Cernavoda and Argentina's Atucha nuclear power plants.

CNPEC in July signed a "binding and exclusive" cooperation agreement with Canada-headquartered Candu Energy Inc, an SNC-Lavalin company, for the construction of Candu units 3 and 4 at the Cernavoda plant. Signed in Vancouver, the agreement was witnessed by senior representatives of China's National Energy Administration and Natural Resources Canada.

Romania already has two operating Candu 6 nuclear reactors, which came into service in 1996 and 2007. Combined, they are the largest power producer in the country, accounting for about 20% of Romania's energy supply. CGN and Nuclearelectrica signed a letter of intent last November for investment in and development of Cernavoda units 3 and 4.

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and Argentina's Nucleoeléctrica also signed an agreement last month, for construction of a Candu reactor at the Atucha nuclear power plant. CNNC operates two Candu 6 units at its Qinshan plant in China's Zhejiang province.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News