Sofia, Sept 3, SPA -- The Bulgarian government Wednesday launched theconstruction of the nuclear power plant at Belene, which PrimeMinister Sergey Stanishev described as the "largest project in thelast 18 years, reported dpa. The 5.8-billion-dollar plant with two 1,000 megawatt generators isbeing built on the Danube 220 kilometres northeast of Sofia. Bulgariaalready runs the Russian-built Kosloduy plant some 100 kilometresupstream of Belene. Bulgaria, a member of the European Union since 2007, awarded theBelene project to the Russian firm Atomexportstroy in late 2006. French and German giants Areva and Siemens were hired as sub-contractors in the project. The Belene project was launched in the early 1980s and revived in2002, after shelving it in 1991 amid protests held in the wake of the1986 Chernobyl disaster. Initially, the builders need to tear down the more than two decadesold foundation, before starting the construction in March andcompleting it in late 2013.--SPA 031152 GMT Sep 08 www.spa.gov.sa/587155