The government estimates that building a second unit at the Krško nuclear power station would cost €7,000 per kilowatt, which would come to €11 billion in the event Slovenia decides to build the most powerful of several possible units under consideration, a 1,600 MW reactor.

The price estimate was revealed by Prime Minister Robert Golob in parliament on 26 June and corresponds to the price of the last nuclear power station to come online in Europe, the 1,600 MW Olkiluoto 3 in Finland.

Until recently discussions regarding nuclear expansion focused on a 1,000 MW unit, but the investor, the state-owned utility Gen Energija, recently indicated it might make more sense to go for a larger unit given the projected increase in electricity consumption.

Golob assured the parliament that the costs and other details of the project would be known before the final decision is taken. "Then a referendum will be held to seek the broadest possible national consensus on the construction of this unit," he added.

"The final decision in accordance with the timeline of Gen Energija will be made in 2027," the prime minister said.

Unless legislation changes, Golob said that the realistic date of completion of Krško 2 was 2047, but the government will launch procedures to simplify permitting.

A task force will be launched in August to draft the required legislative changes so that the siting of the project would be effective, the project is organised efficiently and the financial structure is clear.

The prime minister acknowledged that Slovenia cannot afford to build Krško 2 on its own unless permitting and construction are faster.

"The answer to the question whether we can afford this is very clear: No. If we want to build a second unit, then we have to do it faster, and above all we have to change the legislative framework to be able to do so," he said.

However, he added that investors from all neighbouring countries had expressed interest in participating in the project.