Russia to Start Work on New Bushehr Nuclear Plant by Year End

Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom, says the company is to begin engineering for the Bushehr-2 nuclear power plant by the end of 2016 after preparations are made by Iran in the project’s construction site, according to Press T.V.

“We expect the Iranian customer will determine site parameters and engineering will start before the year-end,” Russia’s TASS news agency quoted a Rosatom source as saying on Tuesday.

Tehran “should identify seismic parameters,” the source added.

Russia has already built a power plant in Bushehr. The agreement for Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was finalized in 1995, but the project was delayed several times due to a number of technical and financial issues.

The 1,000-megawatt plant, which is operating under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reached its maximum power generation capacity in August 2012.

In September 2013, Iran officially took over from Russia the first unit of its first 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant for two years.

The unit obtained the operating license on April 20, the Rosatom source said, adding, “Receipt of this document was a mandatory condition of final turnover of the power unit to the Iranian customer.”

Earlier reports had said that work on the construction site for the new nuclear power units in Iran may start in the coming two years.

In January 2015, Tehran and Moscow signed an agreement for the construction of two more nuclear power plants in Bushehr in south Iran.

Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak estimated that the project would cost about USD 11 billion.

R.S