Romania’s economy ministry will sign cooperation and financing agreements worth $8 billion with the United States Friday to build two nuclear reactors at its plant on the River Danube, U.S. ambassador Adrian Zuckerman said.
Romanian state-owned nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica terminated its partnership with China General Nuclear (CGN) for the building the two reactors in May after six years.
The firm already has two 700 megawatt reactor at the country’s only nuclear power plant in Cernavoda, eastern Romania which account for about 20% of Romania’s power production, and it plans to add two more.
Economy Minister Virgil Popescu will sign an intergovernmental cooperation agreement on Friday with U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette for the refurbishment and the building of two new units, Ambassador Zuckerman told a conference.
“This $8 billion project will be a paradigm for future Romanian-American economic and energy development projects,” he said. The economy minister will also meet Exim Bank chairwoman Kimberley Reed to sign a memorandum of understanding for the financing of the nuclear units and other projects.
“The financing package is the largest financing package ever received by Romania to date,” he said.
China’s CGN filed a non-binding bid to partner with Romania in the project in 2014, but the negotiations, which included price guarantees, progressed very slowly.
The economy ministry has an 82.5% stake in Nuclearelectrica.
