July 16 (Reuters) - Bulgaria has secured a partnership

with U.S. bank Citi to finance the construction of nuclear

power units at Kozloduy NPP, marking the country's largest

energy project in decades, its energy ministry said on

Wednesday.

Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov held final talks in New York

with Citi's leadership, agreeing on financing for units 7 and 8

at the Bulgarian nuclear site that will use Westinghouse's

AP1000 technology.

"The agreement with Citi is an essential step for the

successful implementation of the government's priority energy

project, ensuring energy independence and long-term stability,"

Stankov said during the meeting with Stephanie von Friedeburg,

Citi's Global Director of Public Sector Banking.

For Citi, serving as exclusive coordinator and arranger of

export credit, the deal represents its largest nuclear financing

project in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the ministry

statement.

It did not specify the exact amount of financing agreed and

Citi was not immediately available for comment to Reuters.

Kozloduy is Bulgaria's only nuclear power plant and dates

back to the 1970s. It has two 1,000 megawatts Soviet-made

reactors in operation. Four others were closed by 2007.

Under the expansion plans, unit 7 would be ready by 2033 and

unit 8 would follow at a later stage.

South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction

received parliamentary approval in Bulgaria in February to

advance discussions on building two nuclear reactors with a

combined capacity of 2,300 MW.