ArmInfo. The project of modernization of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Unit 2 will be completed in 2019, Movses Vardanyan, Director General of Armenian NPP CJSC, said at today's meeting of the Investment Commission headed by Armenian Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources Ashot Manukyan.
He said that a total of 300 mln USD will be spent on the project, which is being conducted according to the schedule.
Earlier, in his interview to ArmInfo, Gera Sevikyan, the NPP Deputy Director General, said that a huge volume of work that never been done before was carried out within the period of regular maintenance of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant. According to him, a detailed complex study has been conducted with respect to the reactor and to all the heat production related facilities. The process was supervised by four large companies - two from Russia and two from Croatia. Sevikyan noted that the main thing is that no deviations were found out at the unit that could turn out to be an obstacle for its further operation. The main task will be to prepare the feasibility study for the further operation of the NPP. About 70% of the systems were checked in 2016, and the remaining 30% will be checked within a short regular maintenance period in 2017. The unit will be stopped at that time for a period of 40-45 days. After that the authorized entities will have to adjust and justify the results, and the appropriate term of the equipment will be estimated. He added that in 2018 the emphasis will be put on the reactor cooler systems, which will give an option to improve the safety of the unit closer to international standards. Besides, there is a huge volume of work with respect to power generation equipment modernization - separators, exit transformers, turbines, etc. Currently the unit operates at 92% of its capacity, which forms about 380 mWt. After the modernization the capacity will increase up to 470-480 mWt, which will become an essential addition, rendering an option to start paying the USD 270 mln loan provided by Russia
To remind, in March 2014 the Armenian Government took a decision on extension of ANPP Unit 2 lifetime. Rosatom and the local specialists and experts agreed to work on the Project on Operation Lifetime Extension for 10 years - until 2026. Russia lent USD 270 mln and granted USD 30 mln to Armenia for this purpose.
