The American AES company has secured EUR 1 B in a bid to finance construction of a new production facility at Bulgaria's Maritsa Iztok-1 thermal power plant, Joachim Lyschik, who is the local construction coordinator of subcontracting Alstom, stated. The German-French consortium Alstom was selected main subcontractor of AES last year. The project financing is exempt from state guarantee for the granted loans. About EUR 500 M will be extended by Germany's KFW, which was ready to provide the funds as early as in 2002. Another EUR 200 M has been agreed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as with some commercial banks. The remaining EUR 300 M will be invested by AES. The financial grants are guaranteed by five European crediting agencies that are currently making final touches to their analyses needed for approving guarantees on the credits. As soon as all financial issues are complete, Alstom is ready to launch the T-plant construction works by the middle of 2005. Alstom's contract with AES amounts to EUR 700 M. The company has engaged to build two electricity generation units with a capacity of 340 mWh each, including desulphurising installations and the adjacent infrastructure. Some EUR 200 M is provisionally allotted to subcontractors, which will include also Bulgarian companies, Alstom officials confirmed.