RPT-Romania gets 6 binding bids to build nuclear units

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Romania received six binding bids for the licence to build the third and fourth nuclear reactors at its Cernavoda power plant on the Danube river, the plant's operator Nuclearelectrica said on Thursday.

The bidders are Belgium's Electrabel , Italy's Enel , Spain's Iberdrola , Czech CEZ , a Romanian unit of Arcelor Mittal and Germany's RWE .

The investment is estimated at around 2.2 billion euros ($3.15 billion). Romania aims to create a partnership between private investors and state-owned Nuclearelectrica.

The European Union newcomer plans to boost nuclear-generated electricity with the two nuclear reactors expected to go on stream by 2015 and plans for a second power plant later.

Work at the Cernavoda plant, designed to have five reactors, began 30 years ago. The plant's first unit went on stream in 1996, while the second nuclear reactor entered commercial use this month.

The first two reactors account for roughly 18 percent of the country's power generation.

Plans for the fifth reactor have been scrapped due to insufficient technical capacity.

[BUCHAREST/Reuters/Finance.cz]