Energy Minister Alexander Ozerets reports that plans for the nuclear power plant in Belarus are moving ahead, with parties expected to sign the general contract in June 2012 and the the contract for the implementation of priority activities of the preparatory period reportedly in its final stage, the Telegraf informs.
According to the Belarusian Telegraph Agency, the contractual agreement was signed between the Russian’s Atomstroyexport and the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant Construction Directorate in October 2011 – a preliminary agreement which contained the basic obligations of the parties regarding the construction of the plant, cost and payment terms. The two proposed plants are expected to be commissioned in 2017 and 2018.
They will be the first nuclear power plants constructed in the country and will use the Russian design AES-2006. Plans to build a nuclear power plant in Belarus date back to the 1980's, but these projects were suspended after the accident at Chernobyl.
Preliminary work on the first unit is reportedly already underway. Last week, First Vice Premier Vladimir Semashko stated all preparatory issues regarding the construction have been resolved. "We want to have the first unit operational in 2017. So far everything is going on schedule, in accordance with the arrangements," he said.
President Alexander Lukashenks also has extended an offer to Japan to build a nuclear power plant in Belarus, receiving credentials from Ambassador of Japan Tikahito Harada.
“If you decide to build a nuclear power plant somewhere, Belarus should head the list,” he said.