The Armenian nuclear power plant said on 28 September that it had achieved budget savings during major repair work, including a project for modernisation of the cooling towers.
The first competition for the modernisation of cooling towers, which the station organised independently, saved about AMD1.25 billion ($2.5m). The tender was announced as part of the overhaul of the plant, which began in 2015 and should be completed in 2022. Most of the work in 2015-2019 was financed through an interstate loan from the Russian government, the rest was funded from the Armenian budget.
As part of the repair, the equipment of the turbine hall (generators, turbines and auxiliary equipment), the automation unit, as well as the protection and emergency cooling systems of the reactor have already been replaced. Modernisation of the cooling towers is still to be completed as well as construction of a new open switchgear (OSG), which feeds the electricity into the high-voltage network and transmits it to consumers.
The tender for the repair of cooling towers has been completed, and for the first time an Armenian company won a contract . According to information published on the portal of public procurement of the Ministry of Finance of Armenia, eight organisations from Armenia and Russia took part in the competition. The M-Group company won, offering a price of AMD4,116 million, which was 35% below the initial price offer. This should not compromising quality, because the work will be monitored by NPP specialists, the plant noted.
The next major competition for the construction of a new OSG is being held using a similar procedure. The existing outdoor switchgear is already outdated, so a decision was made to build a new one, at a new site. It will become one of the largest nodes in the power grid, providing distribution and transmission of electricity from the nuclear power plant to Yerevan, Echmiadzin and some ten other cities.
A competition is underway to select a construction contractor. Nine companies from Armenia, Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates are participating. Participants have already submitted applications, with the lowest price of $14.6 million being offered by a company from the UAE.
Photo: Aerial view of Armenian NPP