MINSK, 17 December (BelTA) – The latest episode of the documentary series Time Chose Us aired by the TV channel Belarus One describes how Minsk cogeneration plant No.5 was built and where Belarus’ first nuclear power plant could have been built, BelTA has learned.
Minsk cogeneration plant No.5 was inaugurated in 1999. It was the first power plant to commission in the Commonwealth of Independent States after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Few people know that Belarus’ first nuclear power plant was supposed to be built instead of the cogeneration plant back in the 1980s.
Back in the days of the Soviet Union the rapidly growing city of Minsk experienced shortages of electricity. The capital city had a lot of heating plants to keep it warm. Their capacity was insufficient and their exhausts negatively affected the environment. The construction of a nuclear power plant was authorized. But the project was put on hold after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Only in 1991 the construction site was reactivated in order to build Minsk cogeneration plant No.5. Some wanted to privatize the facility. But the president was dead against that.
“Yes, it is complicated to privatize and grab some enterprise in Belarus. But enterprises like that are not supposed to go private at all. It is a state legacy. This is why you, dear friends, make a huge contribution to the treasury of our nation today,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The construction of such a facility was a costly affair. Particularly on the scale of the year 1999. The president drew attention to the fact during the inauguration ceremony.
“When we were making the decision whether we should build it or not considering the scarcity of funds, I thought that we will lose people if we don’t build such facilities. We will lose our unique construction workers. After all, they may lose their edge,” the Belarusian leader was confident.
Follow us on:
