ARMENIA INTERESTED IN RUSSIAN, TURKISH INVOLVEMENT IN BUILDING NEW NPP ENERGY UNIT – PM

Interfax
Feb 24 2009
Russia

Armenia is interested in the participation of Russia and Turkey in
building a new energy unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP),
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan told the sixth international
economic forum Bridge 2009.

"The construction of the new energy unit has not only economic but
also political content," Sargsyan said, adding that it will allow
the situation in the region to stabilize.

The prime minister also noted that strategic partners and Armenia’s
neighbors are interested in this project. "We are interested in Russian
and Turkish participation in this project, and we are open for dialog,"
the PM said.

According to earlier reports, the new energy unit should be built by
2016, when the lifespan of the current energy unit comes to an end.

Turkey expressed concerns over the safety of the existing reactor
and insisted on its swift closure.

Two energy units of the Armenian NPP, with the capacity of 400
megawatts each, were put in operation in 1976 and 1980. The use of the
NPP was suspended after the 1988 earthquake. The NPP was re-launched
in 1995. Now the first energy unit does not work, while the second
generates around 40% – 50% of the power used in Armenia.