UPDATE 1 - Bulgaria To Assign 75 Mln Euro Desulphurisation Units Project to Italian-Chinese Consortium

The project is co-financed by the European Union through its ISPA pre-accession programme, a ministry spokeswoman told SeeNews.

Maritsa East 2 said last month it had picked a consortium between industrial technology company Idreco and Chinese hi-tech firm Insigma Technology to build desulphurisation units at its block 5 and 6. The Idreco-Insigma consortium outbid Poland's Rafako and Italy's Alstom Power.

The actual value of the contract to be signed on Friday is 85.6 million euro as offers placed by the three bidders in the tender exceeded the 75 million euro project cost agreed in a financial memorandum signed back in 2004, the spokeswoman said. The difference of 10.6 million euro will be covered by Maritsa East 2's own funds.

The European Union, under its ISPA pre-accession programme, will grant 36.165 million euro and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will lend 34 million euro to the project, the plant's press relations officer Mirela Bliznakova told SeeNews last month.

Following the pick-up of the Idreco-Insigma consortium, Alstom lodged a complaint with Bulgaria's competition watchdog against the plant's decision asking the regulator to halt the public procurement procedure, pending a review of its lawfulness.

"The appeal procedure has already been completed and now the deal could be signed," the spokeswoman said.

($ = 0.7595 euro)