Belarusian nuclear
power plant

So far 20% of the work required to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant has been done, BelTA learned from Yuri Pustovoi, director for building the Belarusian nuclear power plant, director of the representative office of the Russian company ASE-NIAEP-AEP in Belarus, during the international expo Atomexpo Belarus on 22 April.

“The main operations at the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant began in November 2013. So far 20% of the total volume of the work has been done. This year we will have to do roughly 20% more,” said Yuri Pustovoi. The executive stressed that it is the amount of work, not the amount of money.

According to Yuri Pustovoi, as many as 26 construction companies are involved in building the Belarusian nuclear power plant, including three Russian ones. About 4,000 construction workers are busy building the power plant.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The power plant will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). In line with the general contract for building the nuclear power plant the first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, with the second one to go online in 2020.

The 7th international expo and conference Atomexpo Belarus 2015 opened in Minsk on 22 April. It will stay open through 24 April. Atomexpo Belarus 2015 is meant to demonstrate the latest technologies used to design, build, operate, and secure nuclear power plants. The forum will also highlight ways to ensure effective deliveries of equipment for building a nuclear power plant and non-energy uses of nuclear power.

The number of construction workers involved in building the Belarusian nuclear power plant will peak at 8,000. The information was released by Mikhail Filimonov, Director General of the enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, during the plenary session of the Industry, Fuel and Energy Complex, Transport and Communications Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus on 8 April, BelTA has learned.

“At present we employ about 3,500 construction workers at the site. We plan to increase the figure up to 6,200 people by the end of the year. At the height of the construction operation in 2016-2017 the number will reach 8,000,” Mikhail Filimonov remarked.

The official stressed that the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant proceeds strictly on schedule. “The cooling tower is now 34m above the ground level. The building of the reactor of the first power-generating unit is at 22m. By the end of the year we plan to reach 44m and 22m with regard to the first and second units respectively,” he explained.

Speaking about spending, the Director General of the enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant noted that in 2015 money will be needed to pay for construction and installation operations and for getting the equipment made. “We plan to spend $633 million in 2015, including $570 million borrowed from Russia. We have spent 14.5% of the planned figure since the beginning of the construction project,” he said.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The power plant will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is the general designer and the general contractor of the project. In line with the general contract for building the nuclear power plant the first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, with the second one to go online in 2020.

Minsk will host the expo and conference AtomExpo Belarus 2015 from 22 to 24 April, BelTA learned from the press service of OOO Atomexpo.

“The main aim of the expo and conference will be to demonstrate the latest technologies of design, construction, operation, and safety protection of nuclear power plants, to ensure effective supply of equipment for the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP), and to facilitate the development of the system of training of nuclear specialists in Belarus,” the press service explained.

The program of the forum includes a conference on the development of nuclear power engineering in the Republic of Belarus with a plenary session, sections, roundtables, and presentations by the companies that will partake in the expo. The conference will discuss the construction of the BelNPP and delivery of equipment for it, development of nuclear infrastructure in Belarus, and public acceptance of nuclear power engineering.

The international expo and conference AtomExpo Belarus 2015 will be held on the initiative of the Energy Ministry of Belarus with the support of the Russian state nuclear energy industry corporation Rosatom.

In 2015 the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry will step up control over the production and acceptance of the equipment made for the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA learned from Oleg Sobolev, Head of the Communications and Public Information Office of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry.

In comparison with 2014 the involvement of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department in control over the production of the equipment will no longer be sporadic. The Department will practice large-scale permanent control, said the official. In 2015 a lot of equipment will be produced for the Belarusian nuclear power plant. Since the first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, with the second one to go online in 2020, the active manufacturing operations will last for several years, he added. In 2014 specialists of the Department started practicing oversight at producer factories in Russia’s Saint Petersburg and Volgodonsk.

Speaking about the main areas of the Department’s work for 2015, Oleg Sobolev pointed out that the Department will closely monitor the fulfillment of the requirements of the license granted to the enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant for the time needed to build the two power-generating units. The next license the enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant will request from the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry will be the license to operate the first power-generating unit, specified the specialist.

Oleg Sobolev stressed that the Department’s inspectors have been monitoring the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant on site since late 2014.

Speaking about results of the Department’s work in 2014, the official reminded that they issued three licenses: for building the foundations of facilities of the second power-generating unit (in February), for building the first power-generating unit (in April), and for building the second power-generating unit (in December). A total of 13 audits of the enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant were carried out in 2014 to check nuclear and radiation safety state, including two complex audits involving Russian specialists.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus will ensure the adequate radiation monitoring by the time the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) is commissioned, First Deputy Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Minister Iya Malkina told reporters on 5 February, BelTA has learned.

“Now we are working on the radiation monitoring system for the area surrounding the nuclear power plant. By the time the NPP becomes operational, we will be able to ensure the adequate level of radiation control at the NPP in accordance with all the safety requirements,” she noted.

According to her, a number of facilities needed to ensure the adequate radiation monitoring, have already been partially installed. “We are collaborating successfully with research centers. Besides, we constantly keep in touch with other nuclear safety watchdogs working at the BelNPP,” Iya Malkina noted.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built 18km away from the town of Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is the general designer and the general contractor of the project. The first power-generating unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in 2018, the second one in 2020.