OSTROVETS DISTRICT, 4 April (BelTA) – The construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant proceeds on schedule. The first unit is getting prepared for the loading of nuclear fuel imitators. The information was released by Belarusian Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich at a field session of the Ecology, Nature Management, and Chernobyl Catastrophe Commission and the Industry, Fuel and Energy Complex, Transport and Communications Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus on 4 April, BelTA has learned.
Viktor Karankevich said: “The work proceeds on schedule. There are routine issues, which need to be discussed at the level of the customer, the general contractor, and subcontractors, but it is part of the routine. One can say things go on as planned.” In his words, there are no problems right now.
Preparations for inserting a nuclear assembly fuel imitator into the reactor are one of the key events at the first unit. “We are working towards making it happen within one month,” the energy minister explained. Genuine nuclear fuel will be delivered to the Belarusian nuclear power plant later.
A weekly meeting of representatives of the Energy Ministry, the Architecture and Construction Ministry, representatives of the general contractor, the customer, and subcontractors took place at the Belarusian nuclear power plant construction site on 4 April. Such meetings are held every week to review progress in building the nuclear power plant. Apart from making sure the construction of the nuclear power plant stays on schedule the meetings take care of integrating the nuclear power plant into the national power grid and the national economy.
The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast using a Russian design featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with the total output capacity of 2,400MW. The first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2019, with the second one to go online in 2020.
