The Acting Minister of Energy Traycho Traykov opened the National Radioactive Waste Repository (NRRW) today. The official ceremony took place at the “Radiana” site at 11:30 a.m., where the facility was built, the Ministry of Energy announced. During the opening, Minister Traykov also commented on the current topic of fuel prices, emphasizing that there are sufficient quantities in the country, and their price in Bulgaria is the lowest in Europe, "Nova TV" reported.
The National Repository is intended for processed and secured radioactive waste generated solely on the territory of Bulgaria. It will store low- and medium-level waste from industry, medicine and household; waste generated during the decommissioning of units I to IV of the Kozloduy NPP, as well as from the operation of future new nuclear power plants. No high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel will be stored, the Ministry of Energy notes.
The National Repository consists of 66 reinforced concrete structures with a total capacity of 19,000 containers with radioactive waste. It will be filled over a period of 60 years. During this period and for the next 300 years, it will be subject to constant control by the authorized bodies.
The construction of the National Repository for Radioactive Waste is financed free of charge by the Kozloduy International Fund through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development with approximately EUR 76 million. The national funding of the project amounts to about 34 million leva. The repository received a permit for use from the National Nuclear Security Administration (Act 16) in March 2026.
Regarding the economic measures in the sector, Traykov announced that the government is awaiting approval of a notification from the European Commission. This will allow the launch of a scheme to support the energy-intensive industry in our country. According to him, the measures taken so far by the cabinet have proven to be the most functional compared to those in other countries.
We recall that on March 25 of this year, by a decision of the Council of Ministers, the State Enterprise "Radioactive Waste" was designated as "operating a nuclear installation" in the Republic of Bulgaria within the meaning of the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage. A condition for issuing a permit for the operation of the National Fund for Nuclear Waste is the availability of a financial guarantee covering the liability for nuclear damage.
The project for the construction of a National Repository for Low- and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste was assigned to the State Nuclear Regulatory Authority (SNR) by a government decision of 2005 (Council of Ministers Decision No. 683/25.07.2005). Over time, this process is conditionally divided into three main stages: site selection, design and construction. After regional and detailed geological-geophysical, geochemical, engineering-geological and hydrogeological studies, the “Radiana” site was selected. On August 29, 2017, the State Nuclear Regulatory Authority officially launched the construction of the facility. The “Kozloduy” International Fund is financing the project on a grant basis through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.