Nuclear power cooperation with China not to be affected by political factors in Romania: president

BUCHAREST -- Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said Wednesday that Romania's cooperation with China in the field of would not be affected by the country's general elections or other political factors.

Main political parties in Romania welcome foreign investment, there is no objection to the nuclear power plant project, the president explained when answering Xinhua's question at a briefing for foreign media.

He said he believed that Romania's cooperation with China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) would not be adversely affected by the general elections at year-end, no matter which party or ruling coalition would come to power.

Earlier on the day, Romania's Nuclearelectrica, the state-owned company administrating nuclear energy, announced that negotiations with China's CGN over the construction of units 3 and 4 at the Cernavoda nuclear-power plant have reached the finish line.

"We are on the finish line, but there are still some aspects to be clarified, primordially, the role of the Romanian Government in the project. There is still one round of talks with various state bodies and we need some little extra time," Danilea Lulache, Director General of Nuclearelectrica, was quoted as saying by official Agerpres news agency.

The nuclear project is a large-scale cooperation projects between China and Romania.

In November last year, Nuclearelectrica and CGN signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the development, construction and decommissioning of units 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda nuclear plant.

A support letter in relation to the Cernavoda project was signed at the beginning of this year by the Romanian government, which outlines major areas of support and commitment associated with the project.

Cernavoda is home to two operating Candu reactors, units 1 and 2, and produces around 18 percent of the country's electricity. The doubling of the production capacity of the plant through the construction of two new units represents a major competitive advantage in the medium and long term, according to local analysts.