Investments in Belarusian nuclear station construction to exceed plans

Investments in the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in 2015 are expected to exceed the planned amount, BelTA learned from Belarusian Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik in Minsk on 15 October.

“The construction of the nuclear power plant proceeds on schedule. We will spend all the planned resources and even more than that,” noted the Minister. He specified that in 2014 alone the project is expected to receive funding as large as $450 million.

Speaking about equipment deliveries, the Energy Minister assured that all the issues are addressed in a timely manner. The Russian state corporation Rosatom guarantees the delivery of the most reliable and quality equipment. There are no doubts that the supplied components meet all the quality and safety requirements.

The AES-2006 design developed by the Saint Petersburg-based R&D company Atomenergoproject has been chosen for building Belarus’ first nuclear power plant. The design envisages the installation of improved water-moderated reactors of the three-plus generation that boasts increased reliability and safety. The design AES-2006 is fully compliant with international norms and recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Belarusian nuclear power plant 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. In line with the general contract for building the nuclear power plant the first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, with the second one to go online in 2020.