Belarusian nuclear industry specialists visit Leningrad nuclear station construction site

Representatives of the national unitary enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant visited the construction site of Leningrad nuclear power plant No.2 where they were made familiar with cutting-edge practices of the Russian nuclear industry, representatives of the Russian concern Rosenergoatom told BelTA.

According to the source, Belarusian specialists plan to apply cutting-edge practices and the unique experience of their Russian colleagues in order to build the nuclear power plant near Ostrovets. The Belarusian nuclear power plant uses the same design that Leningrad nuclear power plant No.2 uses — AES-2006. In particular, the reactor unit will be installed via the open top using a building crane. It was the first time this installation operation at the construction site of the Russian nuclear power plant had been carried out in modern Russia.

Specialists from Belarus were made familiar with the technical solutions used during the combined installation of heavy equipment of the reactor unit in the first power-generating unit of Leningrad nuclear power plant No.2. Personnel of the Russian power plant informed their Belarusian colleagues about the applied industrialization methods in detail.

Construction workers started pouring concrete into the foundation of the facilities that will make up the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant at the Ostrovets site in November 2013. The Belarusian nuclear power plant will boast two power-generating units with the total generating capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). The Russian design AES-2006 has been chosen to build the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international standards and IAEA recommendations. The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport (ASE) is the general designer and the general contractor for building the power plant.

The Russian manufacturer of the reactor unit for the Belarusian nuclear power plant offers a 60-year warranty for this piece of equipment. The Volgodonsk-based branch Atommash of ZAO AEM Technologies intends to supply the reactor shell for the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in autumn 2015. A core catcher for the first power-generating unit has been delivered already, with its installation close to completion. The core catcher for the second power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be shipped in July 2014.