Construction of new nuclear power plant takes 8-10 years and will cost several billions

The Metsamor nuclear power plant has a permit to operate until 2026. That is to say we’re working now, we’re preparing documents and carrying out repairs in order to get an operation permit till 2036. Minister of Territorial Administration Gnel Sanosyan said this on the air of the Public TV, speaking about the goals of his recent visit to the Russian Federation.

According to him, the construction of a new nuclear power plant takes 8-10 years and it is time to solve some issues related to the new power unit, such as capacity, financial model, etc. “I must assess the visit as quite effective , we have received answers to many questions. We were exposed to a fair amount of technology that we think will help us in our future decisions,” he said.

When asked about the approximate estimation of the power capacity of the NPP which Armenia needs and how much it will cost, the minister said there are several options: to build a 1200 Megawatt, 1000 Megawatt or two 1000 Megawatt power units. According to him, there are views that the volume of energy produced by a nuclear power plant with such a capacity is much higher than Armenia’s needs. But the minister said that the government looks at the problem in the long-term perspective and is convinced that more energy will find consumers and will contribute to cheaper energy production at production cost.

Gnel Sanosyan also noted that the territory adjacent to the existing NPP is considered as a preliminary site for the construction of a new NPP for two reasons. The new NPP requires about 80 hectares of land, and the available land there is 200 hectares. Besides, the existing NPP already has some infrastructure that will not need to be built anew and thus certain additional costs will be avoided. The Minister stressed that no final decision has been made on any issue yet.

Responding to a question about how much the new nuclear power plant would cost, Minister said it was too early to say, because its cost could change due to various circumstances: capacity, location, the issue of seismic safety and so on. Nevertheless, according to him, it will cost several billion dollars. Sanosyan added that these figures should not be feared, as these expenses will be made within a few years.