Belarusian nuclear
power plant

Equipment for the Belarusian nuclear power plant, which is being built near the town of Ostrovets, including equipment from Ukraine, is delivered on schedule, BelTA learned from Belarusian First Deputy Energy Minister Leonid Shenets before the plenary session of the third Belarusian-German energy forum on 14 October.

“There are no issues with equipment deliveries whatsoever. The tenders are also held on schedule,” assured the official.

Asked about the progress in the implementation of the project to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant, Leonid Shenets stated that construction proceeds on schedule. “No deviations from the schedule have been registered,” he made it clear.

The AES-2006 design developed by the Saint Petersburg-based R&D company Atomenergoproject has been chosen for building Belarus’ first nuclear power plant. The design envisages the installation of improved water-moderated reactors of the three-plus generation that boasts increased reliability and safety. The design AES-2006 is fully compliant with international norms and recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Belarusian nuclear 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.

ZAO Atomstroyexport (ASE) has organized another tender for the delivery of RUB2.6 billion worth of equipment for the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA learned from representatives of the Russian company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE.

The company intends to buy a hanger-support system for the first and second power-generating units, which are under construction. The delivery term is from 1 March 2015 through 19 July 2020.

Offers are accepted till 5 November. Results will be summed up on 4 December.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built near the town of Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast and will comprise two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). The AES-2006 design has been chosen for building the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international norms and IAEA recommendations. The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is the general designer and the general contractor of the project.

The experience of the second Leningrad nuclear power plant will be used for the sake of increasing the effectiveness of supervision in building the first and second power-generating units of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, representatives of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry told BelTA.

 The Department’s delegation has taken part in a planned inspection of the second Leningrad nuclear power plant. The inspection had been organized by the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia (Rostechnadzor). Representatives of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry were present in the capacity of observers. The source explained that the construction, equipment manufacturing, and supervision processes of the Belarusian nuclear power plant and the second Leningrad nuclear power plant are similar because the facilities are virtually identical.

The planned complex inspection of the Russian nuclear power plant focused on supervision over construction and installation operations, geodesy services and other ones, the observance of license requirements for the right to offer nuclear energy services, manning levels of subcontractors, and other things.

As part of the visit to the second Leningrad nuclear power plant the Belarusian specialists received practical experience in specific matters that are hard to describe on paper. The experience will be used to step up the effectiveness of oversight in building the first and second power-generating units of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, said representatives of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry.

The reactor compartment of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be raised on time, BelTA learned from representatives of the Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE, the general designer and the general contractor of the project.

At present as many as 2,783 workers are employed on site. Subcontractors are expected to use 39% of this year’s allocated annual capital investment by the end of 2014. The volume of operations planned for September is unprecedented.

In August 2014 the construction of the nuclear power plant reached the above-ground phase. On 29 August the first preassembly mounting block of the internal protective shell was installed in its designated position as part of the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The block ranges from the mark 1.25m below the ground level to 9.4m above the ground level. All the operations to install the block at this mark were completed on 11 September. A total of 12 preassembly mounting blocks were installed. The internal protective shell is being built using the preassembly method. The method will allow erecting the reactor compartment with quality and on time. The installation of the first preassembly mounting block of the internal protective shell was completed exactly on schedule.

The Belarusian nuclear 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. The general contractor bears complete responsibility for the project. The AES-2006 design developed by the Saint Petersburg-based R&D company Atomenergoproject has been chosen for building Belarus’ first nuclear power plant. The Ostrovets site in Grodno Oblast has been chosen for building the power plant. The design of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is compliant with international norms and recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The design boasts increased safety parameters as well as technical and economic ones. The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is one of the leaders of the international nuclear power engineering industry and accounts for 31% of the global market for nuclear power plant construction. The company has representative offices and operation offices in 15 countries, with the share of foreign contracts in the company’s portfolio close to 80%.

The construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant has reached its above-ground phase, the press service of the enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant told BelTA.

 The first block of the internal protective shell of the first power-generating unit has been installed.

“The event is as important as the start of concrete pouring operations. The installation of the internal protective shell is one of the key phases of the construction project. By doing it we have reached the above-ground phase,” explained Mikhail Filimonov, Director General of the enterprise.

In his words, the internal protective shell is being built using pre-assembly methods. It will allow erecting the reactor compartment in a quality manner and on time.

“The pre-assembly construction is a very effective method that was first used to build the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. After that it was used all over the former Soviet Union to build nuclear power plants. Unfortunately, later on the method was undeservedly forgotten. However, the Russian energy industry construction company Rosenergospetsmontazh has managed to hold on to the technology and use the pre-assembly construction method to build an internal protective shell of the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant. By the way, Vladimir Masalsky, a native of Belarus, is the head of the company,” said the Director General of the enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant.

Mikhail Filimonov underlined that the installation of the first block of the internal protective shell had been completed on schedule.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant will comprise two power-generating units with the total capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). The Russian design AES-2006 has been chosen to build the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international standards and IAEA recommendations. The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport (ASE) is the general designer and the general contractor of the project.