Thursday, March 21 2019 10:14

ArmInfo.The implementation of the program to extend the life of the second power unit of the Armenian NPP will be extended by 1-1.5 years. Chairman of the Board  of Directors of Armenian NPP CJSC, General Director of Scientific  Research Institute ARMATOM CJSC, Doctor of Technical Sciences,  Professor Vahram Petrosyan stated in a conversation with the ArmInfo  correspondent.

According to him, the development of the project to extend the life  of the unit should have begun in 2012, so that by September 2016  a  comprehensive report on a survey of the main equipment was ready.   However, the problems with financing did not allow then to implement  these plans. And at present this work has not been fully completed,  and the parties are working together to complete the work begun.   "Today it becomes obvious that the project implementation dates will  be shifted by 1-1.5 years," Vahram Petrosyan said, not excluding that  the issue of deadlines will be resolved at the intergovernmental  level.  Meanwhile, Advisor to the Director General of the Armenian  NPP Gera Sevikyan said that the operating life of more than 2500  units of specialized components, systems and structures has been  extended. The main units of the turbine department were modernized,  kilometers of cables were laid, more than 1 thousand tons of  equipment was dismantled and installed. The installation of a second  turbine-generator is planned for 2019 as part of the installation  work in the engine room, and work will begin to improve the safety of  the main station systems. "After completion of the work, Armenia will  receive a more powerful nuclear power plant, and its safety will be  close to world standards," said Gera Sevikyan, not excluding the  extension of the service life of the second power unit after 2026.

To recall, the main objectives of the project to extend the life of  the 2nd unit of the Armenian NPP are the restoration of the resource  and the extension of the plant to 10 years (until 2026), improving  the safety and efficiency of NPPs. The Armenian NPP consists of two  units with Soviet (Russian) VVER reactors. The first unit was  commissioned in 1976, the second in 1980. In March 1989, after the  Spitak earthquake, which killed 25 thousand people, the station was  stopped. In November 1995, due to the acute energy crisis, the second  power unit of the plant with a capacity of 407.5 MW was activated. In  March 2014, the Armenian government decided to extend the life of the  second power unit for 10 years - until 2026. Completion is scheduled  for 2019. The government of the Russian Federation has allocated  Armenia for these purposes a state export credit in the amount of $  270 million and a grant of $ 30 million.