October 26 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria’s National Electricity Company (NEK) will pay 601.6 million euro ($656.8 million) as compensation to Atomstroyexport for the equipment manufactured by the Russian company for the scrapped Belene nuclear power plant project by December 25, the Energy Ministry in Sofia said on Wednesday.
The two companies signed an agreement on October 26, under which NEK will pay in full the sum of 601,617,133 euro principal and interest on or before December 25, 2016, the ministry said in a statement.
Until the payment is made, NEK owes interest on the debt in the amount of 130,000 euro per day, according to the statement.
The sum was awarded to Atomstroyexport by the International Court of Arbitration which decided earlier this year that state-owned NEK must pay about 620 million euro to Rosatom's subsidiary Atomstroyexport as compensation for ditching the project for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belene, on the Danube river.
The Court of Arbitration had subsequently adjusted the initial sum for calculation errors in the amount of 20.9 million euro, the ministry said.
If NEK pays the sum in full on or before December 15, 2016, Atomstroyexport will withdraw its claim to receive 23.8 million euro interest on the sum accumulated since June 14, 2016, when the Court of Arbitration issued its ruling.
If the payment is made between December 16 and December 25, Atomstroyexport will give up on 55% of the interest accrued since the issuing of the court ruling.
Upon the signing of the agreement NEK made a partial payment in the amount of 5 mln euro which was deducted from the principal of the debt, the ministry said.
In September, Bulgaria's parliament approved a bill to extend state aid to NEK to pay the compensation to Atomstroyexport. The bill provides for the aid to be extended in full or in part on the basis of an agreement between the energy minister and NEK approved by the government, based on an agreement for the final settlement of the relations between the parties to the arbitration case.
($=0.9160 euro)