Armenia’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Gnel Sanosyan, announced an upcoming large-scale project—the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the country. Speaking at an event dedicated to Builder's Day, the minister urged the construction community to begin preparations for this grand project now.
This statement followed a recent decision by the Armenian government to establish a specialized closed joint-stock company, "Construction of a New Nuclear Power Unit," with a charter capital of 200 million drams. The company is wholly state-owned and was created in accordance with the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
According to Armenia's energy sector development strategy, the new power unit is planned to be built by 2040, adjacent to the existing nuclear power plant. The capacity of the new unit is expected to at least match that of the current plant.
Minister Sanosyan emphasized that the construction of the new nuclear power plant is a project comparable in scale to other major initiatives, such as the creation of an Academic Town. He highlighted the importance of timely preparation of the entire construction sector for the implementation of this strategically important project for the country.
It should be noted that on August 1, the government of Armenia decided to create the closed joint-stock company "Construction of a New Nuclear Power Unit." This new organization will be responsible for researching technologies and conducting feasibility studies for the possible construction of nuclear power plants.
Earlier, BMG reported that in June 2023, an interdepartmental working group was established in Armenia for the construction of a new nuclear power unit. The operational life of the existing Metsamor NPP has been extended until 2036. In recent years, technical modernization work has been carried out at the plant to extend its operational life.
The main contractor involved in the maintenance of the NPP is "Rosatom." The nuclear fuel for the NPP, uranium, is also imported from Russia. Currently, Armenia is discussing the option of constructing a new NPP using Western modular technologies instead of Russian ones.
The Armenian NPP is the only nuclear power plant in the region, built during the Soviet era near the city of Metsamor. It consists of two power units with VVER-440 reactors. The installed thermal capacity of one unit is 1375 MW, and the electrical capacity is 440 MW.
