Nov 17 (Interfax) - The Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL and Slovenske Elektrarne signed two long- term contracts on the production and delivery of fuel to Slovak nuclear power plants on Monday, an Interfax correspondent reported from the signing ceremony.
Slovenske Elektrarne Director General Paolo Ruzzini and TVEL President Yuri Olenin are signatories to the document. The ceremony took place at the TVEL Machine-Building Plant.
The first contract will enter into force in October 2010 and stipulate the delivery of nuclear fuel to all the operating units of Slovak nuclear power plants - the first and second unit of the Mochovce NPP and the third and fourth units of the Bohunice NPP - in 2011-2015. The units run Soviet-made water-cooled water-moderated reactors VVER-440.
The U.S. Westinghouse was the other bidder, but Russia won.
The current contract on the delivery of Russian nuclear fuel to Slovakia, which was signed in 2003, would expire in 2010.
The sides also signed a agreement, which defines cooperation principles after 2015.
The Bohunice and Mochovce nuclear power plants were launched in 1978 and in 1998 respectively. The Machine-Building Plant based in Elektrostal has been supplying them with fuel since the startup day.
Nuclear power amounts to over 57% of all electricity produced in Slovakia. It is planned to build new Mochovce units soon. The Czech Skoda, a component of the Russian holding United Machine Building Plants (RTS: OMZZ) will build the units from Russian blueprints.
Italy's Enel holds the controlling stake in Slovenske Elektrarne.
TVEL is one of the world's biggest producers and suppliers of fuel for industrial and research reactors in Russia and abroad. TVEL fuel is delivered to 17% of reactors worldwide. The company is a 100% subsidiary of Atomenergoprom, which unites all the civilian atomic energy enterprises of Russia.