September 8 (SeeNews) - State-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding will provide a 50 million levs ($30.2 million/25.6 million euro) loan to its coal mining unit Mini Maritsa Iztok in order to finance its investment programme and repair activities, energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova said on Tuesday.
A further 5 million levs will be made available to Mini Maritsa Iztok to finance an increase of the salaries of its employees as of October, Petkova said in a statement following a meeting with representatives of local trade unions.
The government has firmly committed to develop Bulgaria's coal-fired power plants, Petkova said.
Mini Maritsa Iztok's coal mines in southern Bulgaria sell their output mainly to three thermal power plants located nearby, two of them owned by ContourGlobal and AES, respectively, and one state-owned. The two power plants owned by ContourGlobal and AES generate around 30% of Bulgaria's electricity output.
BEH owns a group of Bulgarian state-owned companies which are engaged in electricity generation, supply and transmission, natural gas transmission, supply and storage, and coal mining.
(1 euro=1.95583 levs)