Construction and installation work at unit 2 of the Bushehr nuclear palnt in Iran began on 14 March, according to the press service of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom’s AtomStroyExport (ASE) company.
The first foundation stone for units 2 and 3 of the plant was laid in September last year. Iran’s agreement with Russia unit 1 of the Bushehr project was signed in 1992. The first reactor was connected to the national electric grid in 2011 and reached full capacity in the following year. Iran has allocated $9bn for the construction of units 2 and 3 at the Bushehr site (Bushehr-II).
ASE, the general contractor for the Bushehr project signed an EPC turnkey contract for construction of the units at Bushehr with Iran’s Nuclear Power Production and Development Company (NPPD) in November 2014. The two VVER-1000 units will be built with Generation III+ technology, including the latest safety features, and have a combined capacity of 2,100MWe, ASE has said. ASE’s Suren Ambartsumyan, director for the Bushehr construction,
said a "technologically competent" team of Russian and Iranian specialists had been formed for the first phase of the Bushehr project that had been able to "quickly navigate complex technical issues and contingencies”. He added: "The high potential of Iranian specialists will be actively involved in the construction of Bushehr II." Bushehr units 2 and 3 are to be completed in 2024 and 2026, respectively. Last September, ASE director Valery Limarenko said Rosatom is keen on the "wide use" of Iranian-made materials and would therefore invite Iranian manufacturing companies to compete to work on the project via contract tenders.
