The nod was expected, as the government decided yesterday to amend the

bill, filed by an opposition MP, with a clause that enables it to pull the

plug on the guarantee in case the price tag on the project - now estimated

at EUR 1.3bn - is to go any higher.

The latest version of the bill

states that before the government actually signs the loan guarantee

contract, TEŠ will have to revise the generator investment programme and

have it assessed by an independent expert.

It is expected that the

National Assembly will discuss the bill at an extraordinary session this

month, as TEŠ wishes to start drawing the EUR 440m loan from the European

Investment Bank (EIB) on 31 July.

The bill proposed by Srečko Meh,

an MP of the opposition Social Democrats (SD), in February has been held up

in parliament after the government demanded extra safeguards, in particular

with regard to costs.

The delay triggered a contract suspension from

main contractor in the project, French company Alstom, in mid-June. The

number of workers on the construction site was scaled back, but Alstom

later relaunched works, agreeing to keep working until the loan guarantee

is approved.