Tot stressed though it was not clear yet whether the works had came to a halt this week as a result of Alstom's suspension or just because workers took the week off due to two bank holidays, on Wednesday and Thursday.

More should be known on Monday, he said, noting that works on the construction site had been very swift so far and were even ahead of schedule.

To be able to proceed with the project, TEŠ is waiting for a confirmation of a state guarantee for a EUR 440m loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Tot said TEŠ had no more time to wait for the government to make up its mind.

He noted that further delays in the decision would make it impossible for TEŠ to guarantee that the final price tag on the project would not exceed EUR 1.3bn, which was one of the main conditions when an act on the loan guarantee was approved in the National Assembly in July.

If TEŠ on Monday gets an assurance that the contract for the guarantee will be signed on time, the company will be able to negotiate with its contractors on delaying the due payments of over EUR 160m, of which TEŠ's debt to Alstom, the main equipment supplier, is EUR 154m.

Finance Minister Janez Šušteršič said on 23 October that the contract would be ready for signing when all the dilemmas were cleared, but he did not wish to be more specific.

Tot said he was not aware of the Finance Ministry being in touch with TEŠ at all.

According to Tot, an additional EUR 117.5m to the EIB's loan is available from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which altogether would allow the TEŠ6 project to be carried out as planned.

However, in case the loans from the EIB and the EBRD are not drawn by the end of November, the two banks will withdraw and the EIB will claim back a preceding loan of EUR 110m and the EBDR would need to be given back EUR 82.5m.

Moreover, along with other costs of a withdrawal of the banks, Alstom would need to be returned EUR 160m.

If Alstom withdrew from the construction site on 1 November completely, the additional real costs would climb to EUR 30m in two months, Tot stressed.