Russia, Iran start construction of Bushehr nuke second stage

BUSHEHR, Iran, Sep 12 (PRIME) -- Russia and Iran held on September 10 a groundbreaking ceremony for the second stage of the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

“Construction of the first stage has proved that Russia always fulfills its obligations to foreign partners regardless of changes in the global political climate,” Russian nuclear power corporation Rosatom’s CEO Sergei Kiriyenko said at the ceremony.

In November 2014, Russia and Iran signed an agreement to cooperate in construction of the second stage at the Bushehr plant. Rosatom’s unit Atomenergoproekt acts as a general designer and Rosatom’s unit Atomstroyexport acts as a general contractor.

The first, 1,000-megawatt unit built by Atomstroyexport is already operating at Iran’s first nuclear power plant. Construction of the plant began in 1975 by German engineering company Siemens, while Russian engineers took over in the 1990s.

The plant’s second stage is estimated to cost around U.S. $10 billion and its implementation will take 10 years.

Rosatom said earlier that a physical launch of the plant’s second unit is scheduled for October 2024.

Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said at the ceremony that construction of the plant’s third unit with Russia’s assistance will start in 2018. “Today, we begin the construction of the plant’s second power unit. The construction of a third unit will start in two years,” Jahangiri said.

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