Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant is open to international inspectors, energy minister says
By Zakhar Shcharbakow, BelaPAN
2 March 2017, 00:50
The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant is open to international inspectors, Energy Minister Uladzimir Patupchyk told reporters in Minsk on February 24, commenting on a remark made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel the previous day that the plant should be open to international scrutiny.
“We are not closing up,” he said. “We are working with the European Union while drafting a national report on the results of stress tests, which have already been carried out. The results of the stress tests will be presented to the European Commission, among others.”
According to Mr. Patupchyk, Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadzyuk will soon meet with European experts in Luxembourg to discuss issues felating to the assessment of the stress test results.
“We received the results of the stress tests in December,” Mr. Patupchyk said. “They are being analyzed at the nuclear power plant at the moment and will soon be sent to our regulator [Dzyarzhatamnahlyad]. This information will be used for a national report that will be presented to the European Commission.”
The results of the stress tests will be made available to the public too, the minister said.
He called on all interested parties not to "politicize" the construction project and said that the Belarusian government was "absolutely open to a normal dialogue.”
“We would not want the process to be politicized,” Mr. Patupchyk said. “We will do everything possible to convince the global community that the nuclear power plant is being built in accordance with all IAEA recommendations and Belarus’ obligations under international conventions and agreements.”
Ms. Merkel said while meeting with Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis in Berlin on February 23 that Germany would advocate that the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant should meet the highest safety requirements. When asked whether Germany might attempt to "block" the construction of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, Ms. Merkel replied that it was necessary to ensure that all safety requirements were met.
"We can only say again and again that there are international inspectors who can examine the construction site and familiarize themselves with numbers,” she said. “Nuclear power is something out of the ordinary, so safety is of particular importance. We will once again tell Russia how important this issue is for all of us, both for Russia and the people who live there and the people who live in the European Union. Even if we have different opinions in some cases, such issues should be discussed.”
The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant is currently under construction in the Astravets district, Hrodna region, some 10 miles from the Lithuanian border. Its two reactors are to have a total generating capacity of up to 2,400 megawatts. The first reactor is expected to be put into operation in 2019 and the other in July 2020.
Russia’s AtomStroyExport is the prime contractor in the project.
The first shipment of nuclear fuel is expected to be delivered to the plant by Russia in late 2018.
2 March 2017, 00:50
Photo: BELTA
“We are not closing up,” he said. “We are working with the European Union while drafting a national report on the results of stress tests, which have already been carried out. The results of the stress tests will be presented to the European Commission, among others.”
According to Mr. Patupchyk, Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadzyuk will soon meet with European experts in Luxembourg to discuss issues felating to the assessment of the stress test results.
“We received the results of the stress tests in December,” Mr. Patupchyk said. “They are being analyzed at the nuclear power plant at the moment and will soon be sent to our regulator [Dzyarzhatamnahlyad]. This information will be used for a national report that will be presented to the European Commission.”
The results of the stress tests will be made available to the public too, the minister said.
He called on all interested parties not to "politicize" the construction project and said that the Belarusian government was "absolutely open to a normal dialogue.”
“We would not want the process to be politicized,” Mr. Patupchyk said. “We will do everything possible to convince the global community that the nuclear power plant is being built in accordance with all IAEA recommendations and Belarus’ obligations under international conventions and agreements.”
Ms. Merkel said while meeting with Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis in Berlin on February 23 that Germany would advocate that the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant should meet the highest safety requirements. When asked whether Germany might attempt to "block" the construction of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, Ms. Merkel replied that it was necessary to ensure that all safety requirements were met.
"We can only say again and again that there are international inspectors who can examine the construction site and familiarize themselves with numbers,” she said. “Nuclear power is something out of the ordinary, so safety is of particular importance. We will once again tell Russia how important this issue is for all of us, both for Russia and the people who live there and the people who live in the European Union. Even if we have different opinions in some cases, such issues should be discussed.”
The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant is currently under construction in the Astravets district, Hrodna region, some 10 miles from the Lithuanian border. Its two reactors are to have a total generating capacity of up to 2,400 megawatts. The first reactor is expected to be put into operation in 2019 and the other in July 2020.
Russia’s AtomStroyExport is the prime contractor in the project.
The first shipment of nuclear fuel is expected to be delivered to the plant by Russia in late 2018.
