A number of 45 companies from seven countries, including Russia and China, are on the list of bidders in the auction organized by state-owned power producer Hidroelectrica to refurbish the Vidraru power plant.

The contract is estimated at EUR 98.4 million, VAT included. The bidders are from Romania, Russia, China, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Slovenia, and Macedonia, reports local Profit.ro. The list includes both individual bidders, as well as joint ventures.

Two large companies from China are interested in the contract. These include Power Construction Corporation of China, with total revenues of over USD 43 billion in 2015, and Power Huadong Engineering Corporation, with over 6,000 employees.

Russian company Power Machines, controlled by the Russian billionaire Alexei Mordasov, has also submitted its offer. Mordasov, who has a wealth estimated at USD 14.4 billion, lost the race for taking over the metallurgical group Arcelor ten years ago to Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.

The name of Mordasov also appears in the Panama Papers file. He is close to the Russian president Vladimir Putin.

editor@romania-insider.com