Thursday, June 11 2020 12:57

ArmInfo. Rusatom Service CJSC,  which is part of the Rosatom Group of Companies, will receive an  amount in drams equivalent to 40 million 255 thousand US dollars for  carrying out activities at the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant. At the  June 11 meeting, the Government of Armenia approved the program of  events of the company.

As noted in the reference justification of the draft decision, a  Framework Agreement will be concluded with Rusatom Service, which  will ensure implementation of a program to extend the life of the  second power unit of the Armenian NPP. The terms of the agreement  apply to contracts concluded in the framework of the project. The RA  Government also recognized as invalid the amendments to the agreement  of February 5, 2015 on attracting Russian export credit.

As RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted at a government meeting,  for many years the Armenian NPP was perceived as a facility, from  which more was taken than given. The goal is to increase the  efficiency of the plant, which will positively affect the energy  security of the whole country.

In turn, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan emphasized that Russian  credit limited the possibilities for the cost price of the entire  energy system of the country. In addition, budget financing will  guarantee the pace of work and increase the effectiveness of the  program.

Earlier today it became known that the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant  will be provided with a budget loan in the amount of 63.2 billion  drams. The Armenian government took this step as a result of the  failed results of negotiations with the Russian Federation on the  remainder (107 million dollars) of the Russian export loan of $ 270  million and a grant of $ 30 million. Wth a  provision of a budget  loan, all procedures at the Armenian NPP will be carried out in  accordance with the regulatory acts of the Republic of Armenia.

According to reports, the Russian Federation not only put forward  stringent requirements for the remainder of the loan, but also issued  invoices in the form of fines for untimely development of a loan and  the exceeding by the Armenian side the limit of 20% of the amount of  loan funds. Now, as expected, a new agreement will be concluded with  Rusatom Service, according to which the company will receive more  than $ 40 million at the end of the program at the end of 2022.  Previously, the company received about $ 30 million a year,  regardless of whether the program was completed or not. Moreover,  domestic companies will be actively involved in the Rusatom Service  event program. Until today's decision of the Cabinet, only Russian  companies were involved in the program, which caused criticism from  domestic experts. With the exception of the Armatom Research  Institute, which within the framework of the project installed the  latest generation of industrial anti-seismic protection system, all  other Armenian companies were left out of this project.

To recall, a loan of $ 270 million and a grant of $ 30 million were  provided by the Government of the Russian Federation to Armenia for a  period of 15 years with a grace period for payments in the first  three years. This deadline expired on December 31, 2019.

Moreover, the annual interest rate on payments is 3%.

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, 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 extend the life of the  second power unit.