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Slovak Cabinet authorises economy minister to hold talks with Rosatom

The decision was taken at a meeting of the country’s government, the SITA news agency reported

PRAGUE, April 11 (Itar-Tass) - Slovakian Economy Minister Tomas Malatinsky on Wednesday was authorised by the government to hold negotiations with Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom on the terms of Rosatom's entry into the state-owned company JESS (Jadrova energeticka spolocnost Slovenska) that is developing a project of new nuclear power plant in the area of Jaslovske Bohunice. The decision was taken at a meeting of the country’s government, the SITA news agency reported.

According to the minister, Rosatom has expressed an interest in the new project on the condition that the Slovak side in the long term will be able to guarantee the purchase price of energy, which will be generated by the future nuclear power plants.

“It is not clear, what kind of guarantees could be given, because there is no mechanism that would in the long-term guarantee the electricity price. All that we have built so far in the nuclear energy industry sphere we have done without long-term electricity price guarantees,” Malatinsky said.

Jesse was formed in 2007 with registered capital of 216 million euros. The Czech energy group CEZ owns 49 percent of its shares, and 51 percent of the shares are owned by the Slovak state company JAVYS.

In January 2013, CEZ and JAVYS signed with Rosatom a memorandum providing for the creation for the Russian state corporation of the possibilities to study the “current state of the preparation of the project of a new nuclear power plant in Jaslovske Bohunice based on which the possible partner will find out whether it has an interest in participating in this project.”

The signing of the memorandum has created opportunities for the beginning of negotiations on the possible sale of CEZ stake in the JESS company, because the main project for CEZ is currently the completion of the Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic.

The construction of the Jaslovske Bohunice NPP may begin in 2014. The estimated cost of the project is from 4 to 6 billion euros.

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