IAEA to provide technical assistance to Belarus with BelNPP safe operation

MINSK, 18 April (BelTA) – The IAEA's international technical cooperation program will be set in motion in Belarus in 2018-2019 to strengthen the potential of the operating organization to ensure a safe and reliable operation of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The Council of Ministers gave a thumbs-up to the project on 13 April 2018, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Energy Ministry.

An active dialogue between Belarus and the IAEA started in 2008 when the decision was taken to construct the BelNPP. Over the ten years, the IAEA has implemented several technical cooperation programs and conducted plenty of consultations and review missions.

“The IAEA providess Belarus with effective consultative support, methodological and technical assistance, and gives access to information on wide-ranging matters, which has been obtained over the years of the nuclear technology development. We promote cooperation with the agency from the perspective of the most topical issues for Belarus at the present stage,” the press service said.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built using the Russian standard Generation III+ design AES-2006 near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2019, with the second one to go online in 2020.