ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 7 2006

PRIME MINISTER: ARMENIA AGREES TO CLOSE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ONLY IN
THE PRESENCE OF ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF POWER

YEREVAN, April 7. /ARKA/. Armenia agrees to close nuclear power plant
(NPP) only in the presence of alternative sources of power. According
to the Public Relations and Press Department of the RA Government,
this was stated by the RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan during
his meeting with Deputy Director-General for External Relations of
the European Commission Fokion Fotiadis.
“Armenia is not against closure of the nuclear power plant, however
only on the assumption of creation of alternative traditional and
non-traditional sources of power and guarantee of energy security and
independence of the country”, Margaryan stated.
In his words, during recent years the RA Government actively
negotiated not only with international structures for solving this
problem but also took some steps in this direction, particularly
promoting construction and exploitation of small hydroelectric power
plants (HPP) and wind power plants (WPP). “The decision on closing
the NPP or constructing a new one will become more real in the
presence of the necessary financing”, Margaryan added.
In his turn Fotiadis emphasized that the EC is ready to support
Armenia in solving problems of energy security.
He added that existence of accurate program of closure of the NPP
will enable the international community better to realize seriousness
of the problem and envisaged work.
“It will create favorable conditions for organizing a conference for
donors with an aim to discuss possibilities of financial assistance
for solution of this problem”, Fotiadis added.
According to the previous statement of the RA Minister of Energy
Armen Movsisyan, the project of closure of the Armenian NPP will be
submitted to the RA Government in 2007. In his words, closure of the
NPP will cost $300-400 mln. Movsisyan added that submitting of the
project doesn’t mean closure of the plant. “Resource of the Armenian
NPP expires in 2016. Nevertheless I don’t mean that the plant will
close exactly in 2016”, he stated. S.P. -0–