The construction of NPP Belene is expected to start till 2009, Sergey Tsochev, chairman of the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulator Agency said at the conference for the Agency's 50th anniversary.

The agency expects the project for the nuclear power plant to be filed with them till the end of the year. After that the agency will have 9 months to consider the project and issue an approval, said Borislav Stanimirov, NRA's vice-chairman, cited by BTA.

International experts will help in the project assessment. Meanwhile activities such as infrastructure building, communications, and other construction which does not require NRA's permission can start on the site.

The NPP's first block must start operation in a term of 6.5 years after the starting date of real construction, and the second block must start operation no later than 7.5 years after the starting date. The site in Belene meets all requirements, including earthquake resistance standards, Mr. Stanimirov pointed out.

The licence for operation of each block will be obtained separately. If part of the equipment currently installed on the Belene site has to be used, the NRA must be informed, Tsochev also said.