Seven companies, three of which are Bulgarian, have applied to be strategic investors in Bulgaria’s revived Belene nuclear project, energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova announced after yesterday’s deadline for submitting applications for participation in the project.

Russia’s state-owned Rosatom, China’s state-owned CNNC and state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company (KHNP), a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corporation, all filed applications, confirming their interest in the project

Press reports said that among the three Bulgarian companies there are two consortia with interests in energy that have been formed specifically for the Belene project and a third company, IPK-UP, which is registered in Kozloduy, but lacks any registered assets or income.