The shareholders of the Slovenské Elektrárne (SE) have not approved the new budget for completion of construction of the Mochovce nuclear power plant (EMO) yet. The state’s representatives opposed the plan, the SITA newswire reported on May 28.
“The budget is a necessary condition for continuation of the works on the project, which will be gradually halted without a quick decision,” said SE spokesperson Jana Burdová, as quoted by SITA.
According to representatives of SE, in the past few months they have offered the state’s representatives all the necessary financial documents explaining that the higher costs will be financed from the company’s own resources, without burdening the state. Originally construction should have cost €2.8 billion, but this later rose to €3.8 billion, SITA wrote.
The need for a higher budget was caused by the complexity of the project and the need to secure compliance with the latest international security standards, Burdová explained.
“Our highest priority is security, which should not be the subject of any compromises,” she added, as quoted by SITA.
The possible halt in works might result in damage to both shareholders and the Slovak economy since “our investment into completion of construction of the third and fourth reactors of EMO represents a significant contribution to the growth in the Slovak economy”, said the head of SE, Paolo Ruzzini, as reported by SITA. He added that in 2011 and 2012 investments reached 1 percent of Slovak GDP, and to date SE had closed deals worth more than €3 billion, and was preparing to invest another €800 million.
The majority shareholder in SE is Italian company Enel which holds 66 percent of the stock. The rest of the shares are controlled by the state, through the National Property Fund.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
