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Power producers PGE, Enea and Tauron have signed a letter of intent along with copper giant KGHM concerning the purchase of equity in a company created to construct and operate Poland's first nuclear power plant, valued at zł.30-50 billion.

Treasury Minister Mikołaj Budzanowski said the structure of the joint venture will help spread the costs and risks of building the nuclear plant among the four companies, which are all controlled by the state.

“We have been warning for a long time that PGE wouldn't be able to shoulder the project on its own, and we have just found a solution,” said PGE president Krzysztof Kilian while inking the letter of intent at the Economic Forum in Krynica, southern Poland.

The letter is the first step towards a potential agreement outlining the rights and obligations of the parties in the project, which is to be headed by PGE. For now, all signatories are avoiding speculating on the size of the stakes they will hold in the company, known as PGE EJ 1.

“The letter authorizes us to negotiate,” said Mr Kilian, adding that the decision to cooperate is a breakthrough for Poland's nascent nuclear energy industry.

The signatories will take six months to discuss the project. Two nuclear plants with a total output of 6,000 megawatts are to be constructed in Poland by PGE, according to the government's plans.

Poland A.M.