Russia's Nuclear Energy State Corporation (Rosatom) will take until June 15 to submit a draft contract for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus to the Belarusian government, Mikalay Hrusha, head of the energy ministry's nuclear power generation department, told reporters in Minsk on June 2.
The contract should be inked by the end of the year, Dr. Hrusha said. A Belarusian-Russian interstate agreement on cooperation in the construction of the power plant will be signed by the end of the third quarter, Dr. Hrusha said.
An interstate agreement on the peaceful use of atomic energy was signed in Minsk on May 28, he noted. The agreement covers the main areas of cooperation, including design work, the construction, safe operation and decommissioning of the plant, the supply of nuclear fuel, and personnel training, Dr. Hrusha said. The 30-year agreement may be prolonged every five years, he added.
The construction of the 2,000-MW plant is expected to start in the Hrodna region near the Lithuanian border at the end of 2009. The plant is expected to account for 27 to 30 percent of the total domestic electricity output. One of the two 1000-MW reactors is to be put into operation in 2016 and the other in 2018. The Belarusian government has selected Rosatom's Atomstroiexport as the prime contractor.
