OREANDA-NEWS. September 05, 2014. The Schoenherr & Associates SCA - Herbert Smith Freehills LL consortium won the auction organized by Nuclearelectrica for legal consultancy services within the project involving the Cernavoda nuclear reactors 3 and 4, according to a document of the nuclear power producer.

The fee is established according to the number of hours worked, not exceeding the estimated value of the contract worth 1,800,000 lei pre-VAT (about 400,000 euros). In the end of the selection process, a contract was signed (...) being valid till December 31, 2014, the document reads. Nuclearelectrica has invited 8 law and consultancy firms specialized in the energy sector, to attend the auction.

Bids have been submitted by the consortium DLA Piper (DLA Piper Dinu SCA - DLA Piper UK LLP - DLA Piper Wiater sp.k Polond), consortium leader DLA Piper Romania (DLA Piper Dinu SCA); Schoenherr &Associates SCA for the joint venture Schoenherr & Associates SCA - Herbert Smith Freehills LL, consortium leader 'Schoenherr & Associates SCA'; joint venture Peli Filip SCA - Linklaters LLP, venture leader Peli Filip SCA; Musat & Associates SPARL.

According to the documentation, the contract was awarded to the 'most economically advantageous offer' based on the evaluation factors: the financial offer (fixed fee per hour) - 60 points and the technical offer - 40 points. The project for the reactors 3 and 4 is put at 6.45 billion euros.

The Romanian state will hold a maximum of 49 percent of the company to be set up for the construction of Cernavoda Units 3 and 4; searches for investors interested in the majority package are underway. In early July, Economy Minister Constantin Nita said in an interview with Bloomberg that Romania hopes to reach an agreement with China General Nuclear Power Holding Corp. regarding the construction of the two new reactors until spring 2015 at the latest.