Cost of BelNPP project within $11bn

The cost of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) will not exceed $11 billion, Deputy Director General of the BelNPP Andrei Barkun told reporters on 26 November, BelTA has learned.

“The governments of Belarus and Russia concluded an agreement on providing a loan to build the BelNPP. The cost of the contract is preliminary. I can say that the cost of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will not exceed $11 billion,” the Deputy Director General said. Some 12.5% of the works have been performed and financed. Andrei Barkun stated that the devaluation of the Russian ruble will not affect the project. “In line with the agreement, the loan will be provided in dollars, therefore we are not particularly worried about the exchange rate of the Russian ruble,” he said.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built 18km away from the town of Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is the general designer and the general contractor of the project. The AES-2006 design developed by the Saint Petersburg-based R&D company Atomenergoproject was chosen for building Belarus’ first nuclear power plant. The first power-generating unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in 2018, the second one in 2020.