Smooth financing of Belarusian nuclear power plant construction project

The project to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant is financed regularly and on schedule. The statement was made by Mikhail Filimonov, Director General of the state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, on 17 February when asked how the economic situation in Belarus and Russia affects the pace of the project, BelTA has learned.

“The money apportioned as part of the loan from Russia arrives on time. We finance our part – about 10% of the total volume — on time as well. This is why I cannot say there is any shortage of financial resources now,” noted Mikhail Filimonov.

In his words, the Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built in line with the schedule, the manufacturers keep shipping in the equipment on time. In 2015 construction and installation operations were carried out at 102 facilities of the first and second power-generating units, with 40,500 tonnes of reinforcement bars installed and 231,500m3 of concrete poured. Since the construction process started 57% of the required reinforcement bars has been installed and 49% of the required amount of concrete has been poured.

In 2015 the main milestones of the nuclear power plant construction project included the delivery of the reactor vessel for the first power-generating unit to the construction site, the installation of the core catcher for the second power-generating unit, the start of the installation of the turbine for the first power-generating unit, the commissioning of the nuclear power plant’s training and education center and the fire station. Apart from that, a new information center was opened in Ostrovets. An information center was also opened in Minsk with assistance of the Russian state corporation Rosatom.

As of late 2015 as many as 4,700 construction personnel worked at the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The contribution of Belarusian construction companies to the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant has amounted to 82.3% since the construction process started.

The construction of homes and infrastructure for construction workers and specialists of the Belarusian nuclear power plant continues. Seven new houses were built for them in Ostrovets in 2015 in addition to a youth center and the road that connects two new residential districts.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). 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.