The Italian company Enel wants to take 49 per cent in the project for the construction of NPP Belene, said Piero Gnudi, president of the company as quoted by Reuters. The company is ready to invest two billion euro in Bulgaria and another 1.5 billion in Romania, announced officials with Enel earlier. In Bulgaria the money will be used for the construction of the second nuclear power plant while in Romania they will be provided for the modernization of the power distribution network in the country. In Bulgaria the Italians are also involved the project for TPP Martiza Iztok 3. Enel has proposed to modernize the existing units and to construct new ones of about 600 mega watts each. The company has also signed a contract with Bulgargaz for studying the possibilities for the construction of a pipeline from Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania to Italy that will be parallel to corridor No 8.
Source: Standart (19.01.2007)

Austrian companies plan to build three factories in Bulgaria, trade representatives of the Alpine republic in Bulgaria told Standart. The first company is the world's largest bricks and roof tiles manufacturer Wienerberger. The company already has a brick plant in the town of Silistra on the Danube and now plans to built another one in the northern Bulgarian town of Lukovit, which will start working at the end of the summer. Roof solution leader Bramac will also open another factory in Bulgaria. Leading manufacturer and supplier of plasterboard Knauf also plans to build a factory in Bulgaria, near the Maritsa Iztok 3 Thermo Electric Power Plant. The project will cost EUR 60 million. The factory is to be functioning by the end of 2008. Austria is also the biggest investor in the Bulgarian economy. Austrian investors poured over USD 2.5 billion during the period 1992-2005. Presently, there are 300 Bulgaria-based Austrian firms. An Austrian company also concluded the biggest deal in Bulgaria - the full acquisition of Bulgaria's first and largest GSM operator MobilTel, carried out by Mobilkom Austria, part of the family of Telekom Austria, in 2005. The price reached the startling EUR 1.6 billion. With its over four million clients, MobilTel is the largest member of the Austrian group. Austria has a serious representation in Bulgaria. Three years ago, the Bank of Austria bought Bulgaria's HVB Bank Biochim for EUR 82.5 million. The establishment of Raiffeisenbank was also an Austrian investment. The bank was registered in 1994 and now its assets gross EUR 1.4 billion. The Austrian companies are also active investments in the Bulgarian energy sector. In 2004 the EVN Company bought the electricity transmission companies in Bulgaria's bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv and in the town of Stara Zagora. The OMV Company has opened over eighty petrol stations across Bulgaria since 1998.
Source: Standart (24.01.2007)

Euromarket Group, the local vendor of power tools and construction equipment, Tue broke ground for a 15 mln lev service center for construction equipment. The facility, which should be the biggest of its type in the country, will be located on the Sofia ring road. The service center, comprising showrooms, repair shops and office premises, will occupy a land plot of 2.8 ha. Construction is due for completion by late '07. Another 5 mln levs will be invested in the launch of regional business centers in Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Burgas.
Source: Dnevnik (07.02.2007)

Italian utility Enel is ready to quickly deploy an investment in a new 700MW coal-fired power plant in the Maritsa Iztok coal basin in Southern Bulgaria, Dnevnik learned from Enrico Viale, the Enel Group head for Bulgaria. Enel has hired local company Minproekt to measure the capacity of the coal basin to supply the new plant, said the company executive. The Italian company wants to build the new plant on the site of thermal power plant Maritsa Iztok 3 which it is currently upgrading. Viale said Enel is seeking approval for the EUR 900 mln project in partnership with Bulgarian power grid operator NEK. The Maritsa Iztok mining company could increase coal output by 7-8 mln tons annually if a new plant is built in the area, said Minproekt executive director Huben Hubenov, adding that the deposits will last for another 40-50 years. German utility RWE has also expressed interest in building a 600MW plant in the complex as has U.S. energy firm AES. The American outfit is already building a new 670MW coal-fired plant in the region. The Bulgarian power regulator is expected to open a competitive procedure for the construction of a new 700MW plant in the Maritsa Iztok basin. AES Maritsa Iztok 1 and RWE are among the investors invited by the Maritsa Iztok mining company this Wednesday to a discussion of the outlook for the area's coal mining industry.
Source: Dnevnik (19.02.2007)

Bulgarian electricity producer Brikel is interested in continuing to buy coal from the local Maritsa Iztok mining company after its integrated pollution control and prevention permit expires in 2012, Maritsa Iztok executive director Ivan Markov said on Wednesday. To that end, Brikel plans to either retool the existing power production equipment or build a replacement capacity. The 200MW Brikel currently buys 4-4.5 mln tons of coal from Maritsa Iztok annually. In related news, the technical council on the development of the Maritsa Iztok mines has decided to propose to the government to open a selection procedure for an investor in a new 600-700MW power generation capacity in the Maritsa Iztok coal basin. Italy's Enel, AES of the U.S. and Germany's RWE are all interested in the construction of a new power generation facility in the area. Enel, which is currently upgrading thermal power plant Maritsa Iztok 3, has one leg up on the competition and has proposed to the build the new plant on the existing site. Enel said it has completed the feasibility study and is ready to negotiate and sign a coal supply contract. Matthias Holzenkamp from RWE Power said the company is ready to invest EUR 900 mln to EUR 1 bln in a new Maritsa Iztok plant. The output of the facility, which could be on stream by 2013, should be competitive on the regional market in terms of pricing. RWE and the Maritsa Iztok mines co-created a stillborn joint venture in 1999 which is now facing either liquidation or a transformation in a new company that could build the new power plant. The Bulgarian energy ministry said the mines should decide the fate of the joint venture with RWE by the end of February.
Source: Dnevnik (22.02.2007)

Bulgaria is facing an energy shortage due to the delayed rehabilitation of capacities. Power plants also have to obtain new integrated pollution prevention and control permits, the CEO of Maritsa Iztok 2 thermal power plant (TPP), Atanas Dimitrov, said. In his words, the upgrade delay is between two and 12 months. The decommissioning of units 3 and 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, the delayed rehabilitation of Maritsa Iztok 3 TPP and the reduced output of Brikel and Maritsa 3 make regular electricity supplies uncertain, experts say. Added to that is the closure of Maritsa Iztok 2's units 5 and 6 and the delayed installation of desulphurising facilities in units 1 and 2. At the same time electricity consumption is expected to increase in 2008 and 2009.
Source: Pari (30.03.2007)

CEZ Group, the Czech utility company, is interested in the acquisition of energy companies owned by Bulgarian businessman Hristo Kovachki. CEZ CEO Martin Roman told Dnevnik that the company is indeed interested in the purchase of private energy assets in Bulgaria. Roman said there were no ongoing talks with Kovachki but confirmed that such have been held in the past. The top company official said he could not provide further details because he had not participated in the negotiations. Roman confirmed CEZ's interest in the acquisition of mining, heating and energy producing assets in South-eastern Europe and in the future privatisation of the Sofia district heating company. The Kovachki press office neither confirmed not denied the negotiations talk. Kovachki controls directly or indirectly the Cherno More, Chukurovo and Otkrit Vugledobiv coal mines, power producer Brikel, the Maritsa 3-Dimitrovgrad thermal power station and the Pleven, Vratsa and Burgas district heating companies. The 200MW Brikel, located in the Maritsa Iztok coal basin, plans to build replacement capacity in light of the fact that the integrated pollution control and prevention permit of the existing capacity expires in 2011. Germany's RWE and Italy's Enel also have plans for a new 600MW capacity in the Maritsa Iztok basin.
Source: Dnevnik (02.04.2007)

The Privatization Agency and Mines Cherno more - Bourgas SPJSC – Sofia signed a contract for the sale of 4,966,419 shares, equal to 100 percent of the capital of Heat Supply - Sliven SPJSC, informed the Agency. Mines Cherno more – Bourgas is owned by the businessman Hristo Kovachki, who solely or as a consultant owns also the mines Opencast Coal Mining SPJSC – Pernik and Mine-Chukurovo, the plant Brikel and Thermal Power Plant-Maritsa 3 JSC – Dimitrovgrad, as well as the heat supplies in Vratza, Bourgas and Pleven. The deal is worth BGN 12.761 mln, 20 percent of which are paid through compensatory instruments.
Source: Dnevnik (05.04.2007)

Bulgarian economy minister Rumen Ovcharov has proposed to revise the deadlines outlined in the integrated pollution prevention and control permits that should be obtained by thermal power plants (TPPs) Maritsa Iztok 2 and 3 pursuant to an EU directive on harmful emissions. The revision proposal was prompted by the delays dogging the rehabilitation of the two power stations which would also lead to the setting of new targets for the launch of their flue gas desulphurisation installations (FGD). The permits will be updated within 3 months after the Ovcharov proposal is approved by the cabinet. The government discussed the proposal last week but deferred any decision. The harmful emission standards put in place by the EU directive on large combustion installations should be reached before January 1. The second FGD installation of TPP Maritsa Iztok 3 will go on stream after the rehabilitation of unit 4 is completed in February 2009. The rehabilitation of the power station is a project of Italian utility Enel. The schedule for the rehabilitation of TPP Maritsa Iztok 2 has been disrupted by delays in the drafting of working projects and by the delivery of uncertified equipment in poor condition. The retrofitting of units 5 and 6 with FGD devices is behind schedule due to delays in the hiring of a consultant to prepare the tender documents. The advisory contract is expected to be signed by August this year. The FGD devices should be in place by March 2009. The Bulgarian environment ministry has refused to revise the integrated permits, fearing that could cue the European Commission to penalise the EU newcomer for failing to deliver on environment protection commitments related to the reduction of harmful emissions.
Source: Dnevnik (16.04.2007)

The Serbian privatisation authority was quoted as saying by news agency SeeNews Thu it has picked Bulgarian company Kornikom to acquire the Kovin coal mine for EUR 16.1 mln. Kornikom, owned by Bulgarian tycoon Hristo Kovachki, will settle EUR 312,000 in legacy debt. In Bulgaria, the company owns mining operation Open Pit Coal Mining Pernik.
Source: Dnevnik (20.04.2007)

Italian utility Enel notified in writing the Bulgarian energy ministry this March of its intentions to invest EUR 950 mln in a 750MW lignite-fired capacity on the site of the Maritsa Iztok 3 thermal power station which it is currently upgrading, said business development chief Alessandro Boschi. The The company is ready with the project's feasibility study. A market study is nearing completion while the environment impact assessment should be ready within 3 months. Bulgarian electricity producer Brikel, AES of the U.S. and Germany's RWE and E.ON interested in the construction of a new power generation facility in the Maritsa Iztok coal basin. Under the local legislation, a contract for a new power capacity could be tendered but the energy ministry has firmly steered clear of that option so far because it entails the signing of a long-term agreement for the purchase of the electricity that will be generated by the new plant. Boschi said Enel is ready to participate in a competitive procedure but noted that his company is ahead of potential competitors in terms of feasibility and market studies. He said Enel would not seek an long-term power purchase agreement. The Enel executive further said the output of the proposed power station will be competitive and would allow Bulgaria to keep a lid on electricity tariffs. The Enel board has approved the incorporation of a special company for the construction of the proposed plant. It will be launched if the Italian company is required to register a joint venture with Bulgarian national power grid operator NEK. The two companies have already signed a memorandum of understanding and Enel has offered a 27 per cent stake in the project to the Bulgarian partner.
Source: Dnevnik (25.04.2007)

Italy's Enel will invest more than EUR 950 million in the setting up of a new power generating capacity at the site of the existing Enel Maritsa-Iztok 3 thermal power plant (TPP). Enel Maritsa-Iztok 3 TPP and the National Electric Company (NEK) reached an agreement in October 2006 to carry out a feasibility study for the project. The results of the study show that the setting up of a 750-MW power generating capacity would be the best option. The project is expected to be completed in four years. Enel will secure funding for the project, which means that no state guarantees or long-term agreements for electricity supplies will be required. The new power plant is expected to utilise 7.5 million tonnes of brown coal annually. The new facility will be operative for a period of at least 30 years. It is expected to secure additional revenue of EUR 800 million under contracts with suppliers and sub-contractors for a ten-year period. A total of 1,500 employees are expected to take part in the construction works.
Source: Pari (25.04.2007)

Three of the biggest pension insurance companies – Allianz, Doverie and Saglasie, have signaled the Financial Supervision Commission, that employers at some companies have forced their employees to change their pension funds. The injured companies claim that employees at Brikel, Thermal Power Plant-Maritsa 3 and Atomenergoremont have been forced to transfer to the newly founded company Toplina. The three companies, as well as Toplina are owned by Hristo Kovachki, who became notorious after the scandals with Sofia Municipality and the Minisipal Bank. Toplina was licensed last year but started operations a few months ago. 46 percent of its shares are owned by LM Impex SPLTD – Sofia, 100 percent owned by Hristo Kovachki. 1,250 people insured in out funds have applied to be insured in Toplina. It is strange that 950 of them decided to do so only in a couple of days, said Milen markov from Saglasie. The matter is of thousands of employees in Brikel, TPP Maritsa Iztok 1, the heat supply companies in Pernik, Pleven, Vratza, the mines in Chukurovo and Atomenergoremont, etc.
Source: Sega (18.05.2007)

Bulgaria's financial regulator said a mid-Mar check in the transfer of accounts to pension insurer Toplina (a company believed to be affiliated with local businessman Hristo Kovachki) detected no apparent irregularities. Pension insurers Doverie, Allianz and Saglasie have all complained to the watchdog about mass migration of accounts. They have alleged that workers employed by Kovacki-controlled enterprises were forced to change their insurer and chose Toplina. The regulator said its competence goes only as far as the legality of the pension plan transfers and that any allegations of coercion should be investigated by the proper authorities.
Source: Dnevnik (21.05.2007)

Italian utility Enel said the rehabilitation of Bulgarian thermal power plant Maritsa Iztok 3 could slow down or even halt altogether as a result of actions taken by the mayor and local administration of the Galabavo municipality. Enel is upgrading its majority-owned 840MW plant under a EUR 600 mln program aimed to boost the generator's capacity and bring it up to EU environmental standards, The investor has communicated the problems encountered in its interaction with the local authorities to the Bulgarian prime minister and to the ministers of energy and environment. The rehabilitation project was due for completion in 2007 but the hand-over has been pushed back to 2009. The upgrade fell behind schedule due to problems with the selection of a contractor. In early 2006, Enel said one of its divisions will step in to replace then contractor DSD Dillinger Stahlbau GmbH. The current problem stems from a mayoral order banning all vehicles and workers from the dumping ground for non-hazardous waste produced by the ongoing upgrade works. The mayor claims that an inspection found irregularities in the operation of the waste site. The inspectors failed to recommend measures to rectify the irregularities as prescribed by law, said the Italian investor. According to Enel, the mayor has overstepped his authority. Under local law, the mayor should offer the investor an alternative dumping site and not prevent the company from contracting the use of a dumping ground in another municipality. The Enel press release also notes that it has failed over the past 2 months to obtain from the chief architect of the Galabovo municipality permission for the construction of a gypsum dehydration installation.
Source: Dnevnik (28.05.2007)

Germany utility RWE said it has signed last week with Bulgarian state-owned mining company Maritsa Iztok an agreement that paves the way for the two partners to field a joint bid for the construction of a new 600-700MW power capacity in the Maritsa Iztok coal basin. The agreement will provide opportunities for joint feasibility study and construction of the new power plant. A commercial corporation will be specially incorporated for the purposes of the project where RWE will control a 51 per cent interest. The company owns land that could be used as the site of the new power station, said Maritsa Iztok executive director Ivan Markov. Almost a decade ago, the mining company and RWE co-created a joint venture in view of the upcoming privatisation of Maritsa Iztok. The two sides have agreed to dissolve the joint venture. According to the energy ministry, the privatisation of the mining company is not on the current agenda. RWE further said that the proposed power generation capacity will cost EUR 1 bln and could be brought on stream around 2013. Bulgarian electricity producer Brikel, AES of the U.S. and Germany's RWE and E.ON interested in the construction of a new power generation facility in the Maritsa Iztok coal basin. Enel has one leg up on the competition. It has completed the feasibility study and is waiting on the environment impact assessment. The Italian utility has argued that the best location for the new power station is the site of the Maritsa Iztok 3 thermal power plant it is currently upgrading. Brikel and AES are touting the attendant benefits of their respective sites in the area. Under the local legislation, a contract for a new power capacity could be tendered but the energy ministry has firmly steered clear of that option so far because it entails the signing of a long-term agreement for the purchase of the electricity that will be generated by the new plant. RWE also said it will participate in the procedure initiated by Bulgarian national power grid operator NEK to select a strategic investor for the construction of a nuclear power plant at Belene, on the Danube river. Bids are due by June 6.
Source: Dnevnik (30.05.2007)

Bulgaria's investment promotion authority last week issued a First Class Investor certificate to Italian utility Enel for its investment in the rehabilitation of the lignite-fired Maritsa Iztok 3 thermal power station. The certificate will be useful in obtaining the various permits necessary for the upcoming rehabilitation works, said Enel Maritsa Iztok 3 executive director Enrico Viale. Enel Maritsa Iztok 3 is a joint venture between Bulgarian national power grid operator NEK and Dutch-registered Maritza&M Holding which is controlled by Enel. The main goals of the EUR 680 mln rehabilitation project are to increase the efficiency and the capacity of the power plant (after the conclusion of the project the power plant will have a capacity of 900 MW), to extend its operational life by more than 15 years, and to comply with European environmental standards. The Italian company is among the 10 corporations that have enter the procedure launched by Bulgaria to select a strategic investor for the construction of a new 2,000MW nuclear power plant at the Danube town of Belene. The candidates shortlisted for the next stage of the competition will be announced within the next month and a half. Enel has also proposed to invest in a new 750MW lignite-fired capacity on the site of the power station which it is currently upgrading.
Source: Dnevnik (11.06.2007)

The delays dogging the rehabilitation of thermal power plants (TPPs) Maritsa Iztok 2 and 3 and the required transposition of European harmful emission standards have Bulgaria on track for an electricity shortfall in 2008, Mardik Papazian, executive director of national power grid operator NEK, told the International Energy Forum underway in Varna. The EU directive on large combustion installations that will be enforced here from 2008 will shut down one unit at the Bobov Dol TPP and the units in the Maritsa Iztok basin that have not been issued integrated pollution prevention and control permits. Maritsa Iztok 3, a project commissioned to Italy's Enel, is 3 years behind schedule while the delay at Maritsa Iztok 2, a project farmed out to Japan's Mitsui, is a year off schedule. Only two units each will remain in use at the two power stations in 2008 because the rest do not have sulphur dioxide removal equipment, said Papazian. That would reduce the capacity of the energy system by 4 bln kWh. The units could remain on stream but will incur hefty eco fines. The issue will be discussed by the parliamentary energy policy committee next week. The problem is further compounded by the fact that Bulgaria will not have a power import option as the whole region is expected to struggle with a 15-20 bln kWh shortfall. NEK estimates that CO2 and sulphur oxide emissions will triple as the workload of coal-fired power stations increases after the 2006 closure of units 3 and 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. The electricity produced by thermal power plants will increase by 5.6 per cent to 58 per cent of total domestic output in 2007. The local power market will open to competition only formally on July 1, 2007, said the representatives of the power companies. State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission chairman Konstantin Shushulov said the deregulated market will reach 25 mln MWh versus 33-34 mln MWh in total output.
Source: Dnevnik (14.06.2007)

The Bulgarian government Wednesday approved the construction of a 600MW power generation capacity in the Maritsa Iztok coal basin, Southern Bulgaria. The investor that will build the facility, with an estimated cost of around a billion euro, will be selected in a competitive basis by the Maritsa Iztok mining company. Under the local legislation, a contract for a new power capacity could be tendered if the country is experiencing a power shortage. The contracting procedure would entail that national power grid operator NEK sign a long-term agreement for the purchase of the electricity output. However, such a contract would slow down the deregulation of the local energy sector. According to legal experts from the energy ministry, the mining company is under no legal obligation to initiate a competitive procedure. The news that it has been put in charge of the future selection procedure sparked fears among potential investors that the outcome may have been predetermined. A month ago, Germany's RWE said it has signed with the Maritsa Iztok mine an agreement that paves the way for the two partners to field a joint bid for the construction of a new power capacity. The procedure will be fair and transparent, assured deputy energy minister Galia Tosheva. A working group will be set up with representatives form the energy ministry, the power regulator and NEK to lay out the selection criteria, she said. The investor will be picked on the basis of criteria like implementation timeframe, environmental impact and technological solutions, said Ivan Markov, executive director of the Maritsa Iztok mines. In addition to RWE, Bulgarian electricity producer Brikel in a consortium with Czech utility CEZ, Italy's Enel, AES of the U.S. and Germany's E.ON have publicly indicated interested in the construction of a new power generation facility.
Source: Dnevnik (21.06.2007)

Two of the biggest energy producers in Bulgaria – TPPs Maritsa Iztok 2 and 3 may be shut down in case they do not install sulfur-filtering installations. Cutrrently they operate paying a combined fined of about half a million BGN due to the delays. TPP Maritsa 3 pays a fine of BGN 20,000 each month for the air pollution caused by it. The complex already has at its disposal a pollution preliminary warning system, said deputy Minister of Ecology Chavdar Georgiev. Both power plants have a deadline of March 31, 2008, to put their installations in correspondence to the ecological requirements. Only in case they do not do so, the Ministry of Environment and Water would inflict the shut down of the installations. Yesterday, Hristo-Kovachki owned TPP Maritsa 3 was granted an altered integrated permit. It was altered due to the systematic violations of air quality standards, included into the previous version. The criteria has been lowered down and the reuirements for coal consumption have tightened up.
Source: Sega (28.06.2007)

Ten more companies get environment permits Bulgaria's ministry of environment has issued ten new integrated pollution prevention and control permits. Companies to have obtained the document include Vratitsa of Vratsa, Belovo paper mill, Sofia Med and Yambol's thermal power plant (TPP) Yambolen. More than 240 permits have to be issued by the end of October 2007. If Kremikovtzi fails to receive a document, substantial financial sanctions may be imposed on the plant, deputy environment minister Chavdar Georgiev said. Maritsa Iztok 2 TPP has been levied BGN 200,000 fines, Maritsa Iztok 3 TPP, BGN 270,000. Both companies have been punished with one-off sanctions, too.
Source: Pari (28.06.2007)

Thermal Electric Power Plant Maritsa 3 JSC - Dimitrovgrad, Bourse code MR3, the annual general meeting of which was held on June 26, 2007, will not distribute dividends for the year 2006. Thermal Electric Power Plant Maritsa 3 JSC – Dimitrovgrad reported a profit for 2006 in the amount of BGN 208,000, which shall be reinvested.
Source: Capital market (03.07.2007)

The regional construction supervision authority in Stara Zagora has declared legal the construction by Italy's Enel of a disposal site for asbestos waste, overturning a ban on the project imposed by the mayor of Galabovo, the municipality that has jurisdiction over the site. Enel is upgrading the site-adjacent 840MW thermal power plant Maritsa Iztok 3 under a EUR 600 mln program aimed to boost the generator's capacity and bring it up to EU environmental standards. Galabovo mayor Nikolai Tonev told local daily newspaper Sega he will contest in court the findings of the investigation.. According to him, the municipal representatives in the team that conducted the check did not sign the respective protocol. In late 2006, Tonev banned access to the waste site after a municipal commission reportedly determined that the project had strayed from the preapproved blueprint. Enel was later also denied access to a dumping ground for construction waste located on municipal land. The row has prompted Enel to warn of possible delays in the Maritsa Iztok 3 modernisation project. The rehabilitation project was due for completion in 2006 but the hand-over has been pushed back to 2008.
Source: Dnevnik (30.07.2007)

Russians Eager To Purchase Bobov Dol Thermal Power Plant Mechel - a leading Russian mining and metals company will participate in the upcoming bidding for the Bulgarian Bobov Dol Thermal Power Plant, the Russian business daily Vedomosti announced. The company already sent a letter of request for participation in the tender to the Republic of Bulgaria Agency for Privatization. Several other candidates have expressed their intention to take part, too, which however does not mean they have yet bound themselves to the tender's procedures, the AP commented. Expectations are that this third attempt to sell the company will be made in at least a month's time. It was only recently that a company to reevaluate the power plant's assets was picked. According to experts the reason why Mechel is so eager to purchase Bobov Dol TPP is the easier access to the European coal markets it will get as a consequence, where coal prices reach US$ 50-60 in contrast to US$ 15-20 on the Russian markets, Vedomosti comments. The edition further adds that Mechel will surely have to face some serious competition on the part of Ente Nazionale per l'energia ELettrica (Enel) and E.ON AG. The former modernized a part of another Bulgarian TPP complex - Maritsa Iztok 3, and the latter owns electricity supply companies in Varna and Gorna Oryahovitsa.
Source: Standart (14.08.2007)

TPP Maritsa 3 will not pollute the environment from the Spring of 2008, said CEO Mike Foster. “Our project is in so advanced stage that our share in the pollution from the complex is minimal and starting next Spring, the plant will not pollute at all”. Two months ago information appeared that TPPs 2 and 3 at the complex may be shut down if they do not install sulfur-filtering installations.
Source: Sega (03.09.2007)

Technogypsum, part of Balkanstroy, is launching the construction works of the factory which will be manufacturing gypsum board, gypsum an dry construction mixtures. This was the statement made by the CEO of Balkanstroy - Mr Nikolay Kaloyanov, cited by chambersz.com. The new building site (of 100 decares) is located near Maritsa Iztok 2 Water Power Plant. The project is estimated to be worth BGN 77.5 million - BGN 53 million will be spent on technical equipment and the rest will buy the land where the factory is being built. The factory will be ready and working in 2009 and 90 workers will be employed, the manufacture capacity will be 20 million square metres of gypsum board, 120 thousand tons of dry construction mixtures and glues. The raw material for the manufacture will be the waste materials of the brimstone installation purification of the heating station. The purifying installation of blocks 7 and 8 of the power plant is expected to provide an annual amount of 350 thousand tons of synthetic plaster. A few days ago nearby Maritsa Iztok 3 the construction of the Knauf gypsum board factory were launched whose investments are to come to BGN 130 million. Mr Kaloyanov commented that there is place for both companies on the market. 30% of Technogypsum manufacture will be exported.
Source: Zastrahovatel (27.09.2007)

Sulfur-dioxide polluted the air of Dimitrovgrad yesterday, said The Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (RIEW) in Haskovo. Two times were reported levels above the allowed – at 14 amd at 15 o’clock, 1.2 and 1.1 times respectively. The source is TPP Maritsa 3 JSC in Dimitrovgrad, said RIEW. After receiving the second above-limit pollution, the authority hasve given instructions for chage of the quality and quantity of the used fuel.
Source: Sega (04.10.2007)

Bulgaria will cancel exports of electricity at the end of November, to ensure it has enough to cover domestic consumption in the winter, deputy economy minister Yordan Dimov said. The reason is that we are entering the first winter when only 4 nuke reactors will operate and this could cause shortage of power supply. Maritza Iztok complex will have the key role in the electricity production this year, Dimitrov added.
Source: Novinar (19.10.2007)

Local businessman Hristo Kovachki told Dnevnik he has hired a consultant to work out a template for the restructuring of its energy companies. A decision on which of the power businesses will go public will be taken by the end of 2007. Up to 30% in the district heating companies in Vratsa, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo and Pleven, Atomenergoremont and thermal power plant Maritsa 3-Dimitrovgrad may be floated on the local exchange. There are plans to lost 30-40% in the Evropa chain of convenience food stores on the London stock exchange, Kovachki said. The assets of the store chain include 100 retail outlets, a poultry factory in Montana, a meat factory in Gorna Malina and Pleven-based cannery Storko. Evropa's capital stands at 219 mln levs.
Source: Dnevnik (19.10.2007)

Haskovo District Court accepts the annual account report of Thermal Power Plant-Maritsa 3 JSC for 2005.
Source: State Gazette (19.10.2007)

Italy's Enel is interested in natural gas and wind energy investments in Bulgaria, CEO and general manager Fluvio Conti said in the sideline of the world energy forum underway in Rome, Italy. The company official said Enel plans to position Bulgaria as an electricity and gas export hub.
Source: Dnevnik (13.11.2007)