Jordan chooses Russian nuclear power plant design

The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) has chosen the Russian engineering company Atomstroyexport (part of Rosatom) as a strategic partner, the investor, and the operator of the country’s first nuclear power plant, Russian and other foreign mass media report.

After reviewing bids submitted for the tender to build the nuclear power plant in Jordan the Russian company was granted the preferential contender status, JAEC Chairman Khaled Toukan told media. The bids included the nuclear power plant design AES-92 based around a VVER-1000 reactor from ZAO Atomstroyexport and the ATMEA-1 reactor from the French-Japanese consortium ATMEA.

The cost of building Jordan’s first nuclear power plant will be about $10 billion. The power plant will be operated on the basis of partnership between the private sector and the state. Plans to set up a joint venture have been revealed. The state will own the controlling interest in the joint venture, Russian mass media report.

Belarus plans to use the Russian nuclear power plant design AES-2006, which features a water-cooled power reactor VVER-1200, to build a nuclear power plant at the Ostrovets site in Grodno Oblast. The timeline for building the Belarusian nuclear power plant is specified by the general contract. The first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in November 2018, with the second one expected to go online in July 2020. In line with the design documents approved by the Belarus government the Belarusian nuclear power plant will boast two power-generating units with the installed nominal capacity of 1,194MW each. The total capacity of the power plant will be 2,388MW, the operating life will be 50 years, and the average annual electricity output in basic operation mode will be 17,095.1 million kWh.

The Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) has issued special permit (a license) No. 02300/239-4 of 13 September 2013 for building the nuclear reactor of the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant to the Directorate for Nuclear Power Plant Construction.