Energy minister Rumen Ovcharov met top officials of the French business group Areva in Paris yesterday. The meeting took place just few days or weeks before the expected announcement of the winner in the tender for building a 2GW nuclear plant in the northern Bulgarian town of Belene . Areva is one of the strategic partners, along with Germany's Siemens, in the offer of Russia's AtomStroyExport for building the plant in Belene. The visit of Ovcharov in Paris is thus seen as another indication that the Russians are likely to win the tender for Belene. Local and Russian press sources have rumoured that AtomStroyExport, indirectly controlled by Gazprom, has offered the cheaper of the two construction  proposals. The price is put in the tune of EUR 2.6-2.7bn. The Czech Skoda Alliance is the other competitor in the tender. The winner will be announced by the end of this month or by the end of the year at latest.