Fondul Proprietatea: Romania's Nuclearelectrica should not invest in more nuclear units

The planned investments in two more reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear plant are not financially justified and are politically sensitive, as the sanctions now applied by the US to the Chinese company Romania selected as partner for this project would cause political conflict, argued Johan Meyer, portfolio manager of Romanian investment fund Fondul Proprietatea, local Mediafax reported. The fund owns 7% in Nuclearelectrica, the operator of the Romanian nuclear plant Cernavoda.

“Investments in reactors 3 and 4 make no financial sense under any circumstances. The fact that the Chinese partner is under US sanctions would make this subject very politically sensitive for Nuclearelectrica,” said Johan Meyer.

In May, Nuclearelectrica signed with China General Nuclear Power Corporation and CGN Central and Eastern Europe Investment a preliminary agreement for continuing the project of units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda.

Meyer also criticised the plans of state-owned hydropower producer Hidroelectrica to diversify and integrate vertically by taking over the assets put up for sale in the country by Enel and CEZ because “they simply cannot generate the same kind of profit that can be generated by Hidroelectrica.”

(Photo source: the company)