ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN PMS DISCUSSED NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FOR ARMENIA

ENERGY

YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. Armenian and Russian prime ministers Nikol Pashinyan and Mikhail Mishustin visited today the "Eurasia - Our Home" exhibition in the Russian Sochi, the venue of a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government and the Eurasian Economic Union's Intergovernmental Council.

At the stand of Russian Rosatom state atomic corporation, Mikhail Mishustin and Nikol Pashinyan were told about the most efficient nuclear plant in the world - a joint Russian-Belarusian NPP project, TASS reported.

"This is a world bestseller, with two powerful units of 1,200 megawatts each," Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev said. He said the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant has already been commissioned, while the second unit is being tested.

"We meet all the strictest regulations of the Russian Federation and the IAEA for quality, efficiency, and safety," he stated.

Pashinyan, in his turn, noted that Rosatom reportedly offers to build units of only 1,200 megawatts.

However, Likhachev said that Rosatom builds also units with 1000, 600 and 400 megawatts, but they a bit more expensive.

To build a new nuclear power plant Armenia's government is studying South Korean, Russian, French and United States' expertise, General Director of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant Movses Vardanyan said on June 5 speaking at a discussion on nuclear power as a means to ensure the country's energy security and independence.

The Armenian NPP, the only one in the South Caucasus region, is located near the town of Metsamor, about 30 km west of Yerevan. The plant accounts for about 40% of the total electricity generation. Its service life has been prolonged until 2026, and work on repeated prolongation for another 10 years is in progress.

Armenian government wants to have a new nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1000-1,200 MW to be built in 8-10 years. In 2022, the Armenian government and Rusatom Overseas (a unit of Russian state atomic corporation) signed a MOU to look into construction of a new nuclear power unit in Armenia --0-