Lukashenko visits Belarusian nuclear power plant

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has arrived in Ostrovets District to visit the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA has learned.

The president will visit the training center of the Belarusian nuclear power plant where he will be informed about the progress in the work to commission the plant and its integration into the country's economy, prospects for cooperation between the Russian Rosatom state corporation and Belarus in nuclear energy, science and technology, and the status of implementation of a comprehensive plan for the development of the nuclear power plant.

Aleksandr Lukashenko will also get familiar with the facilities of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, including the control center of the first power unit, where, as planned, he will give permission to raise the power unit's power capacity (up to 400 MW) in accordance with the phased program.

It is expected that the head of state will also attend a rally of the staff and builders of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant uses the Russian design AES-2006 featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with the total output capacity of 2,400MW. The Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom is the general contractor. Generation III+ reactor units boast improved technical and economic parameters. A unique combination of active and passive safeguards make the nuclear power plant extremely resilient to external and internal impacts. The double shell of the reactor building will protect the Belarusian nuclear power plant in the event of an earthquake, hurricane, flood, explosion and other external impacts.

The Russian VVER technology is by far the most used and tested in the world. Over the past decade it has been used to build nuclear power plants in China, India. Preparations are in progress to construct nuclear power plants in Egypt, Turkey, Hungary, Finland, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant project meets all safety requirements. This has been repeatedly confirmed by international expert missions, including the IAEA, WANO.

Belarus has voluntarily conducted stress tests of the Belarusian nuclear power plant under the procedure of the European Union. They assessed the plant for having "safety reserves" above the requirements set by national legislation. A number of additional measures have been implemented to increase the safety of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

With the launch of the nuclear power plant, Belarus joins the world club of states that use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The project will make a significant contribution to strengthening the energy independence. Belarus will get a stable, environmentally friendly source of energy, which will cover about a third of the domestic electricity needs. Every year the Belarusian nuclear power plant will produce about 18 billion kWh. The launch of the nuclear power plant will replace about 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. The currency burden will be reduced by more than $500 million. Greenhouse gas emissions will be decreased by more than 7 million tonnes per year, which will be a major contribution of the country to the climate change mitigation. The project will also open up qualitatively new opportunities for the national economy.