60-year warranty for Belarusian nuclear reactor

The Russian manufacturer of the reactor unit for the Belarusian nuclear power plant — OAO Atomenergomash — offers a 60-year warranty for this piece of equipment, Vitaly Shishov, Director for Operations of the Volgodonsk-based branch Atommash of ZAO AEM Technologies, told media on 18 June, BelTA has learned.

“The manufacturer offers a warranty for the entire service period of the reactor unit — 60 years. You can imagine how seriously the fact that the equipment will work has been calculated and proved experimentally,” noted the specialist.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built in tight cooperation of Belarusian and Russian specialists. “Every product has its own life cycle, its own control points. The presence of our specialists at the nuclear power plant under construction is mandatory. When we finish manufacturing a piece of equipment, we invite specialists from Belarus to approve its quality,” explained Vitaly Shishov.

For instance, the core catcher was made using a quality management plan and an independent authorized organization upon the insistence of the Belarusian side.

Construction workers started pouring concrete into the foundation of the facilities that will make up the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant at the Ostrovets site in November 2013. The Belarusian nuclear power plant will boast two power-generating units with the total generating capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). The Russian design AES-2006 has been chosen to build the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international standards and IAEA recommendations. The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport (ASE) is the general designer and the general contractor for building the power plant. The timeline for implementing the project is stipulated by the general contract. The first power-generating unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in November 2018.