On Thursday, August 1, the Armenian government included on its agenda a decision to establish a closed joint-stock company named "New Nuclear Power Unit Construction." This new organization will focus on researching technologies and conducting a feasibility study for the potential construction of nuclear power plants.
According to the project's developers, the new company will conduct a comparative study of all proposed nuclear power plant technologies and provide the government with a comprehensive, well-reasoned recommendation for selecting the best technology. Upon receiving government approval, the organization will handle the preparation and coordination of documents related to the construction, financing, ownership, and operation of the new nuclear power units.
The justification for this initiative indicates that during the technology selection and preparation phase, the company will require approximately 800 million drams (over 2 million dollars) in the annual budget. It is expected that within 1.5 to 2 years of its establishment, the organization will be able to present a final conclusion.
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.
