Romania to build nuclear reactors

Romania has signed a deal to build two more reactors at its only nuclear power station, Cernavoda, on the Danube.

The 4bn-euro (£3.4bn; $5bn) deal gave a 49% stake to six European commercial partners - ArcelorMittal, CEZ, GDF Suez, Enel, Iberdrola and RWE Power.

Romania's state-controlled Nuclearelectrica will take part in the project with the majority 51%.

The two existing Canadian-made reactors at Cernavoda provide about 20% of Romania's electricity.

Romanian Finance Minister Varujan Vosganian said the project would take nearly seven years to complete.

"This is a very great step to increase Romania's energy security," Mr Vosganian was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

Cernavoda was built in the 1980s. The plant's first reactor became operational in 1996 and the second in 2007.

Like a number of other European countries, the government in Bucharest sees nuclear energy as part of the solution to meet rising electricity demands.