Friday, November 1 2019 14:46

ArmInfo.Armenia expects Russia's response to a request to extend the deadline for the start of payments on a loan of $ 270 million provided in 2015 to implement  a program to extend the life of the second power unit of the Armenian  nuclear power plant. Hakob Vardanyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial  Administration and Infrastructures of the Republic of Armenia, in  charge of the energy sector, said this at a hearing in a  parliamentary commission on regional and Eurasian integration on  November 1.

According to him, according to the schedule, it was planned to  complete the program by December 31, 2019, but as a result of surveys  conducted in 2017 of more than 4,500 instruments and equipment, new  problems were identified, and therefore, there was a need to extend  the program for another 2 years. In particular, we are talking about  the temperature treatment (annealing) of the reactor in order to  increase its strength to resist neutron fluxes, modernize tower  cooling systems, install anti-seismic protection systems, and build a  new nuclear power substation.

The current substation, according to the deputy minister, built in  the 1970s of the last century, has exhausted its resource, and taking  into account its system-forming role in the electric power industry  of Armenia, along with the Shinuhayr substations and the Hrazdan TPP,  there is a need for the construction of a new facility. The issue of  radioactive waste management also remains to be decided.

In total, 90% of credit funds (from $ 270 million) and 10% of the  grant ($ 30 million) were used as part of the extension program. It  is expected that by the end of the year about $ 2 million will be  saved. The Armenian side will not make interest payments on the  entire, but only on the disbursed loan amount, since the project has  not been fully completed. The Armenian side is counting on  understanding from the Russian side, which, according to preliminary  data, is ready to consider extending the payment deadlines, but there  is no final decision. Meanwhile, starting from January 1, 2020,  Armenia should start paying both on interest rates and on the  principal amount of the loan. Complete modernization of the unit will  lead to more than 10% increase in its efficiency, which will make it  possible to service a loan without any problems.

The deputy minister also emphasized that by December 31, 2019 the  contract with the general contractor of the program, "Rusatom  Service" company (part of the "Rosatom group" of companies) will  expire, with which an additional agreement will be signed regarding  the continuation of work. However, the new agreement will stipulate a  payment term. The fact is, Hakob Vardanyan continued, that the  company in the form of payment for services under the main document  received $ 30 million, which is stipulated by the condition of the  intergovernmental agreement. Now the Armenian side will insist on  payments not by years, but by the results of work. "The project  dragged on, and we paid for the company's services annually," the  deputy minister said.

To recall, the Government of the Russian Federation of Armenia for a  period of 15 years provided the loan with a grace period for payments  in the first three years. This deadline expires December 31, 2019.   Moreover, the annual interest rate on payments is 3%. The main  objectives of the project to extend the life of the 2nd power unit of  the Armenian nuclear power plant are to restore the resource and  extend the operation of the station to 10 years (until 2026),  increase the level of safety and efficiency of nuclear power plants.  This year, it is planned to replace the second turbogenerator at the  station, the automatic control system, and carry out repair work on  the cooling towers. In addition, work will be carried out to prepare  for the treatment of the reactor dome, which will be heat treated  (annealed) in order to increase its strength to resist neutron  fluxes. Annealing itself will be carried out in 2020. All work on the  project will be completed by the end of 2021. In this regard, Armenia  intends to raise the issue of transferring work and loan payments  from 2019 to 2021 before the Russian government.  The Armenian NPP  consists of two units with Soviet (Russian) WWER reactors. The first  unit was commissioned in 1976, the second in 1980. In March 1989,  after the Spitak earthquake, the station was stopped. In November  1995, in connection with the most acute energy crisis, the second  power unit of the station with a capacity of 407.5 MW was activated.  In March 2014, the Armenian government decided to modernize the  station and extend the life of the second power unit.