Russia to provide Armenia with ‘nuclear island’

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Russia to provide Armenia with ‘nuclear island’ –

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ARKA – Russia will provide Armenia with “nuclear island” as its contribution to the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Armenia, Armenian energy and natural resources minister Yervand Zakarian said today. 

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He said the “nuclear island” makes approximately 35% of the total cost of construction of a new facility. The remaining funding is to be secured by the Armenian government, he added, speaking to a news conference.

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According to him, the construction of a new nuclear reactor will take 7-8 years, and it is due to be completed until 2026, when the service life of the Metsamor nuclear power plant expires. 

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Metsamor NPP, located some 30 kilometers west of Yerevan, was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating earthquake in 1988. One of its two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was reactivated in 1995. 

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Armenian authorities want to replace the aging Metsamor facility by a new plant that is supposed to operate at twice the capacity of the Soviet-constructed facility, generating currently some 40 percent of Armenia’s electricity. 

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But the government has yet to attract funding for the project that was estimated by a U.S.-funded feasibility study to cost at as much as $5 billion.

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