Tuesday, November 27 2018 18:57

ArmInfo.The extension of the program to extend the service life of the second unit of the  Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) until the end of 2021 is a normal  practice. On November 27, Evgeny Salkov, CEO of Rusatom Service, told  a question to ArmInfo in an interview with journalists.

According to him, the Armenian side appealed to the Russian Ministry  of Finance with a request to extend the repayment period for the main  loan and interest rates for the Russian loan of $ 270 million until  the end of 2021. "There is nothing terrible in this, the reasons are  the change in the amount of funding for the program. During the  project implementation, new additional needs emerged related to the  need to perform a number of technical tasks. It turned out that the  implementation of individual works would take more time, and there is  nothing reprehensible." - noted the general director. He ruled out  the possibility of rising costs or a rise in price of the loan, which  is provided on concessional terms and interest begins to be applied  from the moment the funds are used. "If they will be used later,  respectively, and the interest payment term will also be implemented  later. The Armenian and Russian Ministries of Finance should now  determine the exact terms of the renewal agreement, the financial  intergovernmental agreement (MEA) terms, which is a normal working  practice "- said Yevgeny Salkov.

He thanked the team of workers who completed a huge amount of work in  2018. "The year turned out to be a shock both for Armenian and  Russian specialists. And today we are celebrating one of the  milestones - the modernization of the third turbine unit, which is  evidence of the efficiency of teamwork," the general director said,  adding that 2019 will be even more difficult. It is necessary to  complete the scope of work, 2.5 times the volume of 2018. Therefore,  the load on the staff of the nuclear power plant and on the Russian  specialists will increase many times. "2018 was an excellent workout  when it was possible to work out practices of interaction in various  areas," Yevgeny Salkov said, expressing confidence that after 2019  the Russian side, together with Armenian partners, will continue to  implement the project.

Recall that as part of the project to extend the life of the ANPP,  the equipment was upgraded at one of the 2 turbine units of Unit 2.  Last week was marked by the connection of a modernized turbine unit  to the power network of the Republic of Armenia. During the tests,  the equipment reached a peak capacity of 238 MW.  The work on the  turbine unit started on June 1, 2018 and affected the modernization  of the turbine, the replacement of separators, steam superheaters,  the turbine generator, the excitation system, the replacement of  conductors and the block transformer. To accomplish this task, about  400 Russian specialists worked around the clock at the Armenian  Nuclear Power Plant together with their Armenian colleagues. Over the  past few years a huge amount of work has been done at the station. In  particular, the service life of more than 2,500 units of specialized  components, systems and structures was extended, deliveries of heavy  and large-sized equipment were made (a total of more than 70 railway  cars of modern, high-tech equipment).  This was made possible thanks  to the professionalism, skillful organization and well-coordinated  work of Russian and Armenian specialists.

All work on the project will be completed by the end of 2021, and  Armenia will receive a station equipped with modern equipment, and  its safety will be close to world standards. The project to modernize  and extend the service life of the Armenian NPP is being implemented  within the framework of the Intergovernmental Agreement (MPS) between  Armenia and Russia and its main task is to restore the plant's life  and extend the plant for 10 years until 2026. The Ministry of  Railways provides a loan to the Armenian side in the amount of $ 270  million and a grant in the amount of $ 30 million, which will be  directed to work to improve the safety and efficiency of operation of  the station.