German utility RWE AG's (RWE.XE) chief executive said Thursday he expects a decision in 2011 on whether a nuclear power plant will be built in Cernavoda, southeastern Romania.

"We expect a final investment decision next year," Juergen Grossmann told shareholders at RWE's annual general meeting in Essen.

The Cernavoda nuclear reactor project is led by Romanian state-controlled Nuclearelectrica, which controls 51% of a joint venture. Its partners include ArcelorMittal (MT), Czech utility CEZ AS (BAACEZ.PR), Electrabel of Belgium, Enel SpA (ENEL.MI) of Italy, Iberdrola SA (IBE.MC) of Spain and RWE.

RWE owns around 9% in the project, which is estimated to cost about EUR4 billion.

Company Web site: www.rwe.com

-By Jan Hromadko, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 503; jan.hromadko@dowjones.com