Bloomberg reported that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited is in talks to upgrade Slovenian power plants in projects worth tens of millions of euros. The thermal plant, located in the central Slovenian city of Trbovlje, may generate energy from gasified coal and from synthetic gas.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is also building a 185 MW hydro power plant at Avce on the river Soca in the western part of the country. It may also cooperate with Litostroj Steel Limited, a Slovenian manufacture of hydro electric pumps.

Mr Andrej Vizjak economy minister of Slovenia said that "Japanese technology is very advanced and that's why we held talks with Mitsubishi heavy industries and they are ready to participate in the upgrade of our plants.''

It may be noted that Slovenia is seeking to boost its energy production as the economy expands and energy needs rise. It is also considering building a second unit at its Krsko nuclear plant as most EU nations try to diversify their energy resources.

Slovenia's USD 52 billion economy has expanded at the fastest pace in more than a decade last year when gross domestic product increased 6.1%. The economy is set to slow along with the rest of the 27 nation EU.