Choczewo wants to profit from the atom. Opponents help in negotiations

The mayor of Choczewo has declared that his local government wanted to make money from the nuclear power plant in Pomerania, and the opponents only helped negotiate better terms with the government.

“The discussions about the plant are over. Everybody was welcome to take part in them,” says the mayor of the Choczewo commune in Pomerania, where the nuclear power plant is to be built. That was his response to a question on whether the plant should be built.

“People remember the construction of the Żarnowiec NPP. There was money. Today it will be different, but people remember that atom will be a good place to earn money, maybe less so when it comes to living in the area,” said the mayor during the “Atom for Local Governments” conference in Katowice organized by Górrnośląska-Zagłębiowska Metropolia under the patronage of BiznesAlert.pl. The mayor said his office would like to have a say in the construction of the accommodation and catering base for about 15,000 employees that will take part in the nuclear project during construction and related projects.

“The opponents of the atom from the Baltic SOS Association are very useful. Without them, we would not have negotiated anything with the government. That’s why we care about them,” he joked. He also commented on the speculation about the possible opposition of the Marshal’s office in Pomerania. “We in Pomerania have a good sense of humor. The marshal wanted to demonstrate that,” he said. According to the mayor, the Marshal’s office has participated in all consultations of the project so far and the free debate on the atom, which was facilitated by a conference organized by his office in November, was good.

Polish Nuclear Power Plants, Bechtel and Westinghouse have signed an agreement on preparing a project to build an NPP with 3 AP1000 reactors that is to be built in Lubiatowo-Kopalino in the commune of Choczewo. The first reactor is expected to be built in 2033 and will be accompanied by the expansion of road, rail and energy infrastructure.

Wojciech Jakóbik