Bolojan announces that he informed the US Embassy about the problems of the Doicești reactor project: “We risk losing public money”
Interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said on Wednesday, May 20, that he informed the United States Embassy about the problems of the Doicești nuclear mini-reactors project, arguing that a reassessment of the investment is necessary.
Ilie Bolojan, interim prime minister Photo: Mediafax
“We risk losing public money and being left with only documentation”, said Bolojan, referring to the current state of the project.
He explained to B1 TV that the project, carried out by Nuclearelectrica, already involved expenses of over 240 million dollars, but without concrete results to ensure the completion of the investment. “The problem we have today is that from a significant amount of money, which has been put at the disposal of Nuclearelectrica, over 240 million dollars, we have a land at our disposal, purchased at a fairly high value. We have a company with many employees who have spent quite a lot of money and we have a feasibility study”said Ilie Bolojan.
He also warned that the current analysis indicates a possible price of the energy produced by the future reactor above the market level, which raises serious profitability issues.
The interim prime minister added that transparency in the relationship with international partners is essential, including the United States.
“Even if this was done, for example, with an American company, I felt it was responsible that if you respect your partners, you inform them. As I did with the United States Embassy. This project has some problems, it would be good to analyze it as carefully as possible, because if you raise it on the agenda of common topics at a certain level, knowing that it has serious feasibility problems, then it means that you do not respect your partner. The Embassy took note of these data, surely, in such a way that you can make a correct decision. If it's feasible, you have to move on. If it's not feasible, it's much more correct to say: these are the problems!”emphasized Bolojan.
Asked who bears the responsibility for the project's situation, Bolojan indicated the management of Nuclearelectrica.
“From my point of view, Nuclearelectrica management had to ensure that all amounts and contracts lead to a concrete result“, he said.
The Doicești project, developed in partnership with an American company, is one of Romania's most ambitious energy projects, but it has generated controversies related to costs, feasibility and the implementation schedule.
