The procedure for selecting an EPC contractor for the construction of a new AP 1000 nuclear unit at the Kozloduy site begins

Kozloduy NPP begins the procedure for selecting an EPC contractor for the construction of the seventh unit of the plant. The company has published a message in English with an announcement of interest in building a new nuclear unit. This is done in view of the decision of the National Assembly of December 18 last year "to take action on the construction of the 7th and 8th units at site No. 2 of the Kozloduy NPP with AR-1000 technology". The invitation to interested parties is Uploaded to the website of Kozloduy Novi Moschnosti NPP EAD. It is the subsidiary of the NPP that will conduct the procedure for the selection of the EPC contractor.

This is the initial stage of choosing an EPC contractor (engineering, construction, procurement and commissioning or EP+C turnkey contract). The equipment supplier is expected to be Westinghouse, but not the EPC contractor for the project.

Companies interested in building a new nuclear unit must provide financial data on the state of the companies they represent for the last five years from 2018 to 2022. Financial statements for the last 5 years must have net profit and turnover for the last 5 years, averaging over US$6 billion over the period.

In the case of a declared interest from a consortium, all members of the consortium shall provide certified copies of their audited financial statements. Financial statements must be presented in US dollars.

An important element in the declared interest is proof of experience in the nuclear sphere, and such experience acquired in the last 15 years. It is about proving experience as a lead constructor under contract/s for the construction and commissioning of at least two nuclear units.

"The candidate must have in-depth knowledge and significant expertise and experience in the engineering, construction, supply and commissioning of nuclear units in order to address the technical and financial requirements of the nuclear power sector...", Kozloduy NPP explains.

It is important to demonstrate experience in contracts for the detailed design of systems, structures and components within a nuclear island or turbine island of a nuclear power plant for at least two nuclear units and experience in contract(s) for the supply and installation of critical equipment within a nuclear power plant island or turbine island of at least two nuclear units.

However, it is expressly stated that candidates from the Russian Federation will not be ranked in this procedure. This effectively limits the choice of EPC contractor to a few European, Chinese, Korean and possibly American companies. The reason is that these are the main companies that can boast of similar experience in recent years.

“The current procedure includes and will be limited to pre-qualification of applicants and selection whereby the requested information submitted by interested applicants is checked for compliance with the eligibility criteria and pre-qualification on a pass/fail basis. Approved candidates who meet the pre-qualification criteria have the opportunity to submit their bids in a separate new procedure," Kozloduy NPP explains.

For the purpose of detailed negotiations with the shortlisted, a separate new procedure will be launched. In it, the offer must be developed in accordance with the requirements. After that, negotiations will take place on the selection of an EPC contractor. A site visit will be arranged for the selected candidates at a later stage.

By 2035, the new block should be a fact

The overall objective and outcome of this assignment is to have the AP1000 unit procured, constructed, commissioned and commissioned before 2035. Westinghouse has full design authority responsibility for the AP1000 plant. Design responsibilities for individual AP1000 installation systems and buildings must be delegated to Westinghouse.

Responsibility for the design of modules, structures and platforms is agreed with the party responsible for the design of the building in which the unit itself will be located. The division of responsibilities in terms of design, engineering, transport and logistics, construction and installation, commissioning and start-up activities are defined in a separate separation of responsibilities document that will eventually form part of the EPC contract.

Kozloduy NPP reserves the right to cancel the procedure at any moment, without causing problems for the applicants. The deadline for expressing interest in participating in the procedure is February 2 at 5 p.m. Bulgarian time. Proposals are accepted in English.