Belarusian nuclear power plant getting ready for tests with nuclear fuel imitators

OSTROVETS DISTRICT, 9 October (BelTA) – The first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is getting ready for tests involving nuclear fuel imitators. Representatives of foreign mass media were informed about progress of the construction project during a media trip to the Belarusian nuclear power plant site on 9 October, BelTA has learned.

More than 50 reporters from seven countries went on a trip to the Belarusian nuclear power plant on 9 October in order to get familiar with the project's progress. The media trip was organized by the Belarusian Energy Ministry in association with the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom as part of the Belarusian Energy and Ecology Forum.

Energy Ministry Press Secretary Zhanna Zenkevich attributed the interest of foreign mass media in the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant to the fact that power-generating units of most of the nuclear facilities being built all over the world using Russian technologies use the same reference design. The fact that the Belarusian nuclear power plant is nearly ready also helps explain the interest. The physical readiness of the nuclear power plant now exceeds 80% (97% -- the first unit, 70% -- the second one).

The reporters are expected to see the main installations used to generate electricity, including a turbine room and a 330kV metalclad distribution substation that connects the nuclear power plant to the national power grid. Apart from that, the reporters will get a close look at spray cooling ponds.

For the first time foreign reporters have been allowed to visit the nuclear power plant's dedicated air defense unit located in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant. The reporters were also made familiar with the work of the local fire station.

In the information center of the Belarusian nuclear power plant the reporters were informed in detail about the project, about the history of construction of the nuclear power plant, and about the development of the nearby town of Ostrovets.

It is the fourth time a media trip for foreign reporters has been arranged during the Belarusian Energy and Ecology Forum. “The format of an open dialogue with specialists involved in building the nuclear power plant allows mass media to get first-hand information about the project's progress and demonstrates the openness of construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant,” Zhanna Zenkevich noted.