Preparations for building nuclear station in Belarus nearly over

Belarus is about to complete the preparation phase in building the nuclear power plant in the town of Ostrovets. The construction of the power plant proper will begin in June-July, Belarusian Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik told media on 14 May, BelTA has learned.

“We are about to finish the preparatory stage of the construction project and will soon get down to building the nuclear power plant proper after dealing with some procedural matters involving the issuance of the license by the regulating body, the expert evaluation of the architectural design, the cost estimate and the adoption of the relevant decree. In line with our calculations it is supposed to happen in June-July 2013,” said the Energy Minister.

He underlined that the design chosen for the Belarusian nuclear station is a third generation plus design. It is the latest solution the nuclear power engineering industry can offer, said Vladimir Potupchik.

According to the official, Belarus is interested in Armenia’s experience of operating a nuclear power plant. “It is a unique experience that the Belarusian side is ready to study. It is also important for us to study the experience of handling personnel training matters. Apart from that, the practice of cooperation between the Armenian colleagues and international organizations such as the IAEA looks interesting,” he remarked.

In turn, the Armenian side may be interested in studying the Belarusian experience of building a new nuclear power plant. Armenia intends to continue developing nuclear power engineering just like Belarus does.

In August 2010 the Russian and Armenian sides signed an agreement to build a new power-generating unit at the Armenian nuclear power plant with a 1,060MW reactor and the operating life of 60 years. The Russian company OAO Atomenergoproject is the key designer and the general contractor. The construction of the new power-generating unit is supposed to start in Armenia in 2014-2015 to be finished within five years.