17:33,

YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia Gnel Sanosyan referred to the issue of building a new nuclear power plant in Armenia.

ARMENPRESS reports, during the budget discussions in the parliament, Sanosyan emphasized that the operating license of the nuclear power plant in Armenia is valid until 2026, and there is a task to extend the period of operation of the nuclear power plant until 2036. Large-scale works were carried out last year to extend the period of operation of the nuclear power plant, and these works are continuing this year.

However, discussions on building a new nuclear power plant in Armenia have already begun. The minister explained that they have started talking about a new nuclear power plant now, because the construction of nuclear power plants takes quite a long time.

The preparatory phase is also quite long, it takes about two years to prepare, and 8 or 10 years to build.

Sanosyan emphasized that the construction of a new nuclear power plant implies a difficult choice, because it is necessary to understand what power nuclear power plant will be built, and to understand this, many factors must be taken into account. "And since the new nuclear power plant is being built for 100 years, we have to make calculations from 2036 and for the following 100 years. For example, we have to calculate how much electricity we will give to Iran in 2080, whether we will give it or not, whether we will give it to Georgia or not. We need to understand what Armenia-Turkey relations will be like, whether Turkey will buy electricity from Armenia or not, because the eastern regions of Turkey need it now," Sanosyan said.

It is also necessary to understand what the local consumption will be like. It is necessary to understand whether atomic, water, solar energies will be in a certain proportion, or whether there should be a lot of dependence on the nuclear power plant.

According to Sanosyan, Armenia now has a good balance, the energy system is not too much dependent on the nuclear power plant. As an example, the minister mentioned the fact that the work of the nuclear power plant is at a standstill at the moment, but this has not led to serious problems.