ARMENIA WILL START BUILDING NEW NPP IN 2010 – PM
Russia & CIS Presidential Bulletin
January 30, 2008
The construction of the first power unit of a new nuclear power plant
(NPP) in Armenia will begin at the end of 2010, Prime Minister Serzh
Sarkisian has announced addressing the staff of the Armenian NPP.
"We already have a partner – a major entity in Europe that is ready
to invest in the project of building a new NPP power unit. We will
sign an agreement with our partner in September and start building
the new unit at the end of 2010," he said.
Sarkisian said that energy security is a major task for his country.
The need to develop nuclear power engineering arises in the context of
growing world prices for oil and gas, he said. The state is determined
to increase allocations on the safe operation of the nuclear facility.
Energy Minister Armen Movsisian said that the new NPP would be built
in the grounds of the existing one because it has the entire necessary
infrastructure. The construction of the new NPP is expected to last
for five years. Early estimates say the new NPP will have a capacity
of 1,000 megawatts.