Former executive director of BEH Petyo Ivanov becomes director of Kozloduy NPP - New capacities

The project company "NPP Kozloduy - New Powers" EAD, which is 100% owned by "NPP Kozloduy" EAD, has had a change of management since last Friday. The executive director of the project company will be Petyo Ivanov, the former executive director of BEH EAD. The company's board includes the executive director of Kozloduy NPP Valentin Nikolov (as a representative of the plant), Svilen Spasov, Alex Nestor and Yanko Jinkov. This was announced by the website publics.bg.

Svilen Spasov is a doctor of technical sciences and a member of the European Council for Foreign Policy. He is the creator of the book series "Power and Responsibility" together with the "Siela" publishing house. Since 2005, he has been working in the field of energy. He owns his own consulting company. He performed tasks by participating in tenders for TPP Maritsa East 2, Mini Maritsa East. He has worked on and for projects with Shell (Netherlands), Westinghouse (USA), Camel Laird (UK), McDermott (USA). In 2010, he signed a contract with Westinghouse in connection with the company's investment intentions to build the seventh unit of the Kozloduy NPP. Until 2018, he was responsible for Westinghouse's business in Bulgaria.

Petyo Ivanov was born in 1978 in Harmanli. In the period from February 2016 to July 2019, he was the executive director of BEH EAD. Before taking the position of executive director of BEH, he headed the state gas company "Bulgargaz". He also worked as head of "Financial Controlling" and chief accountant at NEC EAD. He was also a member of the board of directors of POD "Allianz Bulgaria" as well as "Svobodna zona Ruse" EAD. For half a year in 2017, he was also chairman of the board of the Kozloduy NPP. He participated in the management of ICGB as well as ContourGlobal Operations Bulgaria.

Alex Nestor is a Canadian citizen of Bulgarian origin, vice-president of the Canadian-Bulgarian business network, and from November 2023 – President of the newly established Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria (CanCham). In Bulgaria, he was the director of "Corporate and External Relations" and executive director of the Canadian company "Dundee Precious Metals", vice-chairman of the Bulgarian Mining and Geological Chamber and chairman of the "Srednogorie Med Industrial Cluster". He was a member of the board and vice president of the American Chamber of Commerce in the period 2009-2016, and in 2017, its acting executive director.

The name of the fourth member of the Management Board of the project company, Yanko Jinkov, has not yet been associated with energy investments. According to the Trade Register, since 2015 he has been on the Board of Directors of the state company "Consolidated Commerce" EAD, a company in liquidation with the principal "State Consolidation Company" EAD. In addition to this participation, Jinkov has a number of other participations in commercial companies as an owner or manager.

Valentin Nikolov, who has been appointed as the plant's representative on the board of the project company, returned to the position of Executive Director of the Kozloduy NPP in August 2023. He also held the same position in the period from May 2012 to July 2013, when the first activities started in the project company for new power in Kozloduy. He was the Executive Director of BEH in 2021. In 2012, he was the Deputy Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism. Over the years, he has been in the leadership of NEC, NHSOC, a former deputy from the GERB party.

The changes were entered into the Commercial Register on January 8 and were officially entered on January 12, 2024. The decisions were made at the same meeting of the board of "AEC Kozloduy" EAD, at which the decision was also made to increase the capital of the project company by 1, BGN 5 billion – on December 28, 2023.

The company is expected to lead the construction of the two new units of the Kozloduy NPP - 7 and 8. They are expected to be built using the AP 1000 technology. BEH is expected to hold a tender for the selection of the contractor for the project, after so far, the technology is clear. The selected company will have the difficult task of building a new unit by the beginning of 2030, as requested by the government. The state is expected to remain the majority owner in the new nuclear power project.