Minister Petcu: Negotiations with Chinese for new nuclear reactors to be finished this year

The negotiations with the Chinese for the construction of nuclear reactors 3 and 4 from Cernavoda, which require an investment of over EUR 6.5 billion, will be finished this year, says the minister of energy, Toma Petcu.

„What the current Government aims, including the Energy Ministry, is for Romania to become a regional player, both in production and selling of energy, as well as in production and sales of gas, especially. Indeed, the negotiations with Chinese for the nuclear reactors 3 and 4 from Cernavoda will be finished this year, from taking over the mandate, we accelerated the negotiations in this sense. I had a first meeting with Chinese where we discussed about the things that weren’t aggregated in the past, that weren’t agreed upon or well established between the two parties. There are several claims from Chinese companies, but also other things that we can’t accept, to create a mixed company and make sure this project goes well. In June we’ll have another meeting with them to end what we discussed in the meeting from February,” said Petcu.

The minister also said that he is unsatisfied about the head of Nuclearelectrica, because the feasability study for the new nuclear reactors is not finished.

„From 2020-2021 we have to start these works, to reach the deadline from 2025. If the current Government hadn’t acted in time, it would have been the risk that Romania lose the integrated production cycle of energy based on nuclear fuel,” said Petcu.

Nuclear power covers roughly 20 percent of Romania’s electricity consumption each year.