MINSK, 26 February (BelTA) – The Belarusian nuclear power plant will be commissioned taking into account all the safety requirements, BelTA learned from Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk.
Belarusian Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik has given instructions to take every key step in 2018 in order to commission the first unit of the nuclear power plant in 2019. Mikhail Mikhadyuk explained that all the necessary decisions had been worked out together with the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom and the general contractor. In his words, Rosatom is the world's leader in the area of nuclear power engineering. Atomstroyexport (the general contractor for building the Belarusian nuclear power plant) is busy implementing nuclear power plant construction projects in Russia and abroad. Units of the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant, the Rostov nuclear power plant have been commissioned recently. A project similar to the Belarusian one is nearing completion at Leningrad nuclear power plant No.2.
The official said: “Establishing systemic work for the sake of implementing the Belarusian nuclear power plant construction project is the key task. We see that all the parties involved in the project are intent on reaching this goal. The nuclear power plant will be commissioned on time while observing all the safety requirements.” Meetings involving representatives of all the agencies concerned are held regularly to discuss progress in implementing the project. Tight interaction has been established with the Architecture and Construction Ministry, the Emergencies Ministry, the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry, and other ministries for the sake of handling all the emerging issues in a timely manner.
Mikhail Mikhadyuk stressed that the year 2018 will be the decisive one for commissioning the nuclear power plant on time. “Every organization, every enterprise has been assigned tasks and monthly schedules. All the necessary design documents have been handed out. Minor corrections sometimes happen but we deal with them promptly,” he said. “There are absolutely no issues with financing. We have enough money. Apart from the advance payments the general contractor and Rosatom are due in line with the relevant contracts we offer payments in advance to subcontractors for the sake of making timely purchases of material resources.”
The physical launch of the first reactor is scheduled for February 2019. It means that nuclear fuel will be loaded into the reactor and power output will be raised step by step. The relevant tests will be performed at every step. “In summer 2019 we should be able to give a little bit of power to the national power grid and raise the output gradually so that the first unit could reach the full output capacity by the end of the year,” he specified.
Meanwhile, work is in progress to get the license to operate the nuclear power plant. The license has to be acquired before nuclear fuel is delivered to the construction site. The delivery is scheduled for November 2018. European Union experts continue their independent evaluation of the report on stress tests of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. A group of European Union experts is expected to arrive in mid-March 2018. They will visit the nuclear power plant and will get all the necessary information, assured Mikhail Mikhadyuk.
The official pointed out that the Russian design of the Belarusian nuclear power plant meets all the modern safety standards and requirements of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor). A rigid system is in place to check the quality of work and incoming equipment. “We don't rush forward to the detriment of safety. We suppress all attempts at disorganization and poor contract execution,” he stressed.
Belarusian contractors are involved in the construction of the nuclear power plant as much as possible. They have done 69.1% of the total work. It is a good way to accumulate experience for Belarusian companies, construction workers and engineers because the country has not seen such large-scale projects up till now. “On the whole, our general contractor speaks in glowing terms about Belarusian construction workers, Belarusian installation companies. It is ready to work with them as part of other foreign projects, too.”
“We work tightly with Rosatom. It is an internationally recognized corporation. Ours is a priority project for Rosatom. We feel its support. Together we have worked out all the solutions in order to commission the nuclear power plant in line with the contract while taking care of safety requirements. We now have everything to commission the power plant on time. There are no major problems with regard to finance, design documents, or equipment deliveries. Routine matters are handled smoothly,” concluded Mikhail Mikhadyuk.
The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built using the Russian standard Generation III+ design AES-2006 near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2019, with the second one to go online in 2020.
