Norton Rose to advise on Baltic plant

19 November 2010

International law firm Norton Rose has been appointed by Russia's Inter RAO UES to advise on overall legal aspects in connection with the development of the banking feasibility study for the project to attract foreign investments in the construction of the Baltic nuclear power plant. The two-unit plant, with a total generating capacity of 2300 MWe, will be located in the Neman district of Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea positioned between Poland and Lithuania. Unit 1 is scheduled to be completed in 2016, while unit 2 will be finished in 2018. The cost of constructing the plant is put at €5 billion ($7 billion). Russia is seeking foreign partners to take up to 49% in the project and possible partners include Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Italian power giant Enel is also a potential partner, having signed a cooperation agreement with Inter RAO UES earlier this year. Norton Rose will advise on construction, operating, financing, environmental, infrastructure, licensing, permitting and transmission aspects of the project. Ground preparations for the Baltic plant have already begun, ahead of a planned date in April 2011 for first concrete.