Preparations for Building New Reactor for Armenian NPP Moving Forward: Minister
17.09.2010,
16:53
rmenian energy and natural resources minister Armen Movsisyan said today the process of preparations for building a new reactor for Armenian NPP in Metsamor was moving forward.
YEREVAN, September 16, /ARKA/. Armenian energy and natural resources minister Armen Movsisyan said today the process of preparations for building a new reactor for Armenian nuclear power plant in Metsamor was moving forward.
During Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Armenia in August the governments of Armenia and Russia signed an agreement on “technical and financial cooperation” in building a new energy unit at Armenia’s aging nuclear power plant set to be decommissioned in several years.
Armenia plans to build a new nuclear power plant to replace the aging Metsamor plant. With a projected capacity of 1,000-1,200 megawatts, the new facility would be more than twice as powerful as Metsamor’s sole operating reactor that generates more than 40% of Armenia’s electricity. The Soviet-constructed facility, which is 30 kilometers west of the capital, Yerevan. currently generates some 40 percent of Armenia's electricity.
The Armenian government has yet to attract funding for the project that was estimated by a U.S.-funded feasibility study to cost as much as $5 billion. To attract foreign investors Armenian parliament adopted a law in 2006 eliminating government monopoly on owing and running nuclear facilities. Construction of the new reactor is supposed to start in 2011.
An Armenian-Russian closed joint-stock company was set up late last year with the aim of building the new reactor. Warley Parsons, an Australia-based international consortium, was chosen in a tender to manage the construction project. The Armenian government indicated in early August that the decommissioning of the Metsamor plant due in 2016-2017 may be delayed by several years.
Speaking to Armenian reporters today minister Movsisyan said technical-economic indicators and the configuration of the new reactor were ready. He said the government will announce a tender soon to choose a company to deliver the reactor’s technical equipment.
‘We must build a reactor that will comply with the latest safety and other requirements. The process is proceeding successfully,’ he said. -0-
During Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Armenia in August the governments of Armenia and Russia signed an agreement on “technical and financial cooperation” in building a new energy unit at Armenia’s aging nuclear power plant set to be decommissioned in several years.
Armenia plans to build a new nuclear power plant to replace the aging Metsamor plant. With a projected capacity of 1,000-1,200 megawatts, the new facility would be more than twice as powerful as Metsamor’s sole operating reactor that generates more than 40% of Armenia’s electricity. The Soviet-constructed facility, which is 30 kilometers west of the capital, Yerevan. currently generates some 40 percent of Armenia's electricity.
The Armenian government has yet to attract funding for the project that was estimated by a U.S.-funded feasibility study to cost as much as $5 billion. To attract foreign investors Armenian parliament adopted a law in 2006 eliminating government monopoly on owing and running nuclear facilities. Construction of the new reactor is supposed to start in 2011.
An Armenian-Russian closed joint-stock company was set up late last year with the aim of building the new reactor. Warley Parsons, an Australia-based international consortium, was chosen in a tender to manage the construction project. The Armenian government indicated in early August that the decommissioning of the Metsamor plant due in 2016-2017 may be delayed by several years.
Speaking to Armenian reporters today minister Movsisyan said technical-economic indicators and the configuration of the new reactor were ready. He said the government will announce a tender soon to choose a company to deliver the reactor’s technical equipment.
‘We must build a reactor that will comply with the latest safety and other requirements. The process is proceeding successfully,’ he said. -0-
