Nuclear station construction fateful for Ostrovets District

The construction of the nuclear power plant in Ostrovets District is already having a positive effect on the development of the district. The effect will continue into the future. The statement was made by Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk during Belarusian-Lithuanian public debates held in the Belarusian town of Ostrovets on 17 August to discuss the report on the environmental impact of the future Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA has learned.

“Ostrovets District used to be a drain on the budget of the oblast and the republic. Now it has advanced to a totally different economic level, although only the preparatory stage of the nuclear power plant construction is about to end. Future construction of the nuclear station is capable of making an economic leader out of Ostrovets District,” the Deputy Energy Minister is convinced.

The construction of the nuclear power plant will increase Ostrovets’ population up to 40,000 people. New jobs will be created at the power plant and at all the enterprises of the infrastructure, new service and production sector enterprises are opening up. Intensive home construction at the expense of the state budget is in progress in the town. Land plots for enterprises are auctioned off to eager investors. “At present land prices here are higher than those in oblast capitals and are getting close to land prices in Minsk because land plots for enterprises are sold and are rented for long terms via auctions here,” said the official. Foreign investors can also take part in the process, including Lithuanian investors. Speaking about the economic effect for the region, Mikhail Mikhadyuk pointed out the development of the motorway network, hotels and other kinds of infrastructure that always accompanies such large-scale projects.

All in all, the nuclear power plant is not a project for one region but a project of national importance, said the Deputy Energy Minister in response to doubts voiced by a representative of the general public of Lithuania. The Lithuanian doubted that a sufficient number of industrial enterprises is available in Ostrovets District for the nuclear power plant to supply its electricity to. The nuclear power plant is designed to improve the effectiveness of the national power grid and produce a greater economic effect for the country as a whole. According to the Deputy Energy Minister, it is these facts that were the foundation of the decision to build the station. The choice of the location was primarily guided by safety considerations, although the specific location can also give a boost to the development of the region, however, it is not the key factor behind such decisions. “In France, according to AREVA Company, the country’s nuclear power engineering leader, regions compete with each other for the right to host a nuclear power plant. Ostrovets was lucky in this regard and neighboring areas are lucky, too,” said Mikhail Mikhadyuk.

Speaking about whether the Belarusian production sector needs the nuclear power plant, the Deputy Energy Minister remarked that every year Belarus consumes 2% more electricity due to the construction of new industrial installations accompanied by the implementation of the energy effectiveness program. The nuclear power plant is capable of turning out up to 26% of what Belarus needs every year (about 39 billion kWh). “The nuclear power plant will occupy an important position in the basic generation schedule. On the whole, it will improve the reliability of energy generation and the reliability of energy delivery to customers,” concluded the Energy Ministry official.