EU clears Cernavoda for 224m euro loan

The European Union approved a 223.5 million euro loan to help fund the works on the second nuclear reactor of the power plant in Cernavoda and improve the nuclear safety levels, Economy and Trade Ministry on Wednesday announced. The EU loan is granted through Euratom, one of the project funding suppliers along with export credit agencies from Italy, France, Canada and US, while the rest of the financing is provided by the Romanian Government and Nuclearelectrica National Company. The loan will be drawn in seven tranches during an implementation period set to end in 2007. “Following the ratification by the Romanian Parliament of the sovereign guarantee for this loan and the compliance with the contractual conditions for enforcement, the first tranche may be drawn by the end of the first half of this year,” the Economy Ministry says. ZF