Russia ready build second nuclear plant for Iran if not banned and profitable

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Russia ready to help Iran expand Bushehr nuke plant English.news.cn 2012-05-29 21:38:23 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-05/29/c_131618849.htm MOSCOW, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Russia's state atomic agency Rosatom said Tuesday it is ready to help Iran build another unit at the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Rosatom is prepared to offer Iran support on the project "if it is not banned and if it is profitable, if the project is developed," Interfax news agency quoted Rosatom deputy head Nikolai Spassky as saying. The UN Security Council has permitted the expansion, so there is "nothing new" about it, Spassky told reporters, adding that preliminary consultations on the issue are underway. Atomstroyexport, Bushehr's Russian contractor and an engineering company of Rosatom, earlier said the power plant would be operational by the end of 2012. According to the contractor, Bushehr, the first nuclear power plant in Iran, successfully reached 90 percent of its nominal capacity in routine trials in early May. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization chief Fereydoon Abbasi Davani said Saturday the country is to launch a second power unit at Bushehr plant next year with a capacity of 1,000 MW. Construction of the Bushehr plant began in 1975 by several German companies. However, work halted when the United States imposed an embargo on hi-tech supplies to Iran after the 1979 revolution. Russia signed a contract with Iran to complete the construction in 1998. However, the remaining construction was postponed several times due to mounting technical and financial challenges and pressure from Washington.