OREANDA-NEWS. September 24, 2007. The director of the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Control (Rostekhnadzor) Konstantin Pulikovsky has instructed the Agency’s ecological control department to organize an ecological inspection of Leningard NPP-2 so as to see if that project complies with the ecological standards. The inspection will be carried out by an independent expert group in the next two months. The experts will represent Kurchatov Institute, Sechenov Medical Academy, Institute of Bio-Physics, Hydrospecgeology and Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety.

To remind, the construction of unit 1 of LNPP-2 is part of the Federal Target Program for the Development of the Nuclear Power Industry of Russia in 2007–2010 and -2015, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation on Oct 6 2006.

In 2008 the Government is planning to allocate 5.909bln RUR for the project. The total cost of the project is 69.023bln RUR.

LNPP-2 has been approved by the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Control.

The general contractor of the project is Atomenergoproject (St.Petersburg), which has won this right in a tender (on July 25 2007) against Atomeneroproject (Moscow) and Atomenergoengineering. On Aug 28 2007 Rosenergoatom concluded a contract with AEP.

In Feb 2007 the project was offered for public discussion. The public approved the project but made over 100 proposals on how to improve it. All of them have been considered by the designers.

In Sept Rostekhnadzor granted a license to the placement of the first two units at the LNPP-2 site.

Presently, the project is being examined by the Chief State Inspection of the Russian Federation.

Russia has already built similar reactors in China – Tianwan NPP.

LNPP-2 has even better technical parameters than Belene NPP (Bulgaria), Atomstroyexport’s project meeting all European standards.

Unit 1 of the plant is to be launched in 2013.

Leningrad NPP has four units, 1000 MW each. Presently, the life of unit 1 has been extended for 15 years, the life of unit 2 — for 5 years (after modernization it will be given 15 years more). The service deadline for units 3 and 4 is 2009 and 2011, respectively. Their lives can be extended for 20 years.