ARMENIA PLANS ONE MORE NUCLEAR PLANT NEAR TURKISH BORDER
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Monday , 10 September 2007
A new nuclear power plant being built in Armenia on the site of an
existing facility will end up costing about $2 billion, Armenian
Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan has said.
"The project’s feasibility study is being carried out by Armenia,
Russia, the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]. The
old nuclear power plant is to be rebuilt within four-and-a-half years,"
Movsisyan was quoted as telling the Parliament on Friday.
He said the construction of the new plant, located in the town of
Metsamor, near the Turkish border, would require a complex refit,
including the installation of seismic safeguards.
The Metsamor nuclear reactor, which is composed of two WWER-440-230
units, each with power levels of 408 megawatts, is located not far
from the capital of Yerevan, 16 kilometers from the Turkish border.
The Armenian government decided to open the second unit in the
reactor in 1993, due to high energy needs, and thus the second unit
was started up in 1995.
The Metsamor reactor provides up to 40 percent of Armenia’s electricity
needs and is predicted to continue doing so until 2016. Since Yerevan
decided upgrade the reactor the Turkish Atomic Energy Agency (TAEK)
has been involved in following related developments and taking the
necessary precautions from the Turkish side.
Movsisyan also stressed that Armenia must have a permanent source of
nuclear power and that the new Armenian nuclear power plant must be
operational until alternative sources are found. He said that "many
foreign countries now understand that Armenia must have a nuclear
power plant." "Only a new Armenian [nuclear power plant] can become
an alternative to the one now in use," he said.
Armenia has serious problems with almost all neighbouring countries
including Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. About 20 percent of Azeri
territories have been under Armenian occupation. In addition, Armenia
does not recognise Turkey’s unity and borders.