Poland to seek financial partners to build second nuclear power plant, Tusk says

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WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland will seek financial partners to help fund the construction of its second nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday, as it awaits an EU nod for financing the first.

“When it comes to the first power plant, we are taking on almost the entire financial burden ourselves. When it comes to the second one, we need to look for financial partners,” Tusk said.

“I am a realist. We really want to build it, but we also need real funds for that,” Tusk added.

To cut reliance on coal, Poland chose Westinghouse Electric to build its first nuclear plant on the Baltic sea coast that is set to cost some $40 billion.

In September Poland sent a request for European Commission approval of a plan to finance the plant.

The government is working on legislation that will allow it to inject 60 billion zlotys ($15.45 billion) into state-owned Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe, which is in charge of overseeing the building of the first of the three reactors by 2035.