The Macedonian Government is giving serious thought to joining the Belene nuclear power plant
project in Bulgaria, the Macedonian service of Deutsche Welle Radio said on Wednesday.

The Government has sought the opinion of a team of experts headed by Vladimir Pesevski, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, about whether Skopje should invest in the future Bulgarian N-plant.

After the Bulgarian ambassador in Skopje conveyed an official proposal for Macedonia to share in the project, Macedonia asked for additional information on the planned structure of Belene's ownership and the involvement of Russian and other partners in the project.

Macedonian experts differ in their views on the project, but they concur that their country should invest in the building of new energy capacities.

According to Professor Atanasko Tunevski, Skopje's possible involvement in Belene would be a good investment. "An investment of 350 million to 400 million in Macedonia's share in Belene will return in 13 to 14 years," he said.

Professor Konstantin Dimitrov, however, believes that instead of joining the construction of the Bulgarian plant, FYRMacedonia should build its own N-plant. "That would be a better decision, although it would require more time," he reasoned.

Croatia recently declined to take part in Belene, saying that it has its own energy strategy. After the withdrawal of Germany's RWE due to the economic crisis, the Bulgarians remained without a strategic partner in the undertaking, Deutsche Welle said.