RUB11.2bn to be invested in Belarusian NPP project in 2013

A total of RUB11.252 billion will be invested in the construction of the production facilities of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in 2013, BelTA was informed in the department for public relations and information policy of the Nizhny Novgorod Engineering Company Atomenergoproekt (NIAEP).

The company commented on the meeting of the high-level panel responsible for the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant held under the chairmanship of Deputy Energy Minister of Belarus Mikhail Mikhadyuk. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Government of Belarus, the State NPP Construction Directorate (customer), the merged company NIAEP –Atomstroyexport (ASE) (general designer and general contractor), Belarusian contractors, and the administration of Grodno Oblast. The meeting took place in the run-up to the visit of Rosatom Director General Sergei Kiriyenko to Ostrovets, the company said.

“The Government has set us the goal to perform three times as much works as last year, and utilize RUB11.252 billion this year. The schedule is very tight. In March, the architectural design documents should be given for examination, which will end in May. We also need to speed up the process of obtaining a license for the construction of a nuclear power plant. We are planning to do the first concrete works on 15 June 2013,”’Mikhail Mikhadyuk said.

According to the Director for the Belarusian NPP construction at NIAEP Yuri Pustovoy, in September 2013, we are planning to complete works on all 60 objects of the production base and out-of-site facilities, networks and structures that ensure the functioning of the production facilities as a whole. On 15 June, we are to start working on the nuclear and turbine island. In 2013, works will be carried out on 25 sites of energy unit No. 1.

The President of NIAEP, the managing company of Atomstroyexport , Mr Valery Limarenko summed up the meeting: "We have mapped out plans for 2013 and discussed the tasks that require operational decisions. Thanks to effective cooperation with the Government of Belarus, the NPP construction project is fast-paced, ahead of schedule. In February, we are starting to work on energy unit No. 2.”

The united company OAO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport (ASE) was founded in March 2012 by the relevant decision of the state corporation for nuclear energy Rosatom. Thus, OAO NIAEP became the managing company of ZAO Atomstroyexport. The united company represents a chain of offices supervising construction. Among them is a design institute in Nizhny Novgorod as well as three NPP construction management offices (Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Saint Petersburg). The company has its outlets in 10 countries of Europe and Asia. The united company employs over 4,000 professionals. The total staff exceeds 7,000 taking into account subsidiaries.

The Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus signed an agreement on cooperation in the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in Minsk on 15 March 2011 as part of the Union State Council of Ministers meeting. The agreement envisages a turn-key construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant by Russia. The general contractor is ZAO Atomstroyexport, the client is the NPP Construction Directorate.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant will have two power generating units with the total capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each) and will be built near the town of Ostrovets (Grodno Oblast) to the AES-2006 design. The design is fully compliant with international norms and IAEA recommendations.

The contractual agreement on the NPP construction was signed on 11 October 2011. It is a framework agreement which defines the main provisions of the general contract on the Belarusian NPP construction. On 25 November 2011 Belarus and Russia signed an intergovernmental agreement on the allocation of the Russian state export loan for the construction of the nuclear power plant in Belarus. The move set up a necessary international legal framework to finance the works under the project.

On 31 January 2011 the sides inked a contract on exploration works, project documentation development and top-priority engineering documentation on the Belarusian NPP. The next step was the signing of the general contract on the cosntruction of the Belarusian NPP at the meeting of the Union State Council of Ministers in the presence of Dmitry Medvedev and Mikhail Myasnikovich on 18 July 2012. The general contract was signed by head of NIAEP-ASE Valery Limarenko and Director of the NPP Construction Directorate Mikhail Filimonov.