OREANDA-NEWS. September 25, 2008. The roundtable was part of the 6th International Forum “”The Fuel and Energy Complex of Ukraine: Present and Future.”

The participants in the roundtable discussed a wide spectrum of problems of Russian-Ukrainian cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy, particularly, possibilities of attracting investment in promising projects, building new nuclear reactors in Ukraine, developing cooperation between Energoatom and TVEL, the plans of Atomenergoptom, Uranium Holding ARMZ and Atomstroyexport.

Fuel and Energy Minister of Ukraine Yuri Prodan pointed out the high efficiency of Ukraine’s nuclear power cooperation with Russia. He said that the key priority of the Ukrainian Government was the implementation of the Energy Strategy 2008–2030. The key projects under the strategy are the construction of new nuclear reactors (the 3rd and 4th units of Khmelnitsky NPP) and supply of Ukrainian NPPs with fuel (uranium, zirconium, nuclear fuel). Ukraine is planning to build a plant for production of nuclear fuel. The feasibility report will be ready in 2009, the launch is scheduled for 2015. Such big projects need international cooperation, Prodan said.

Prodan said that one of the key priorities of Ukrainian-Russian cooperation was Ukraine’s participation in the International Uranium Enrichment Center (Angarsk, Russia). “We have solved all organizational problems and hope that Kazakhstan and Russia will complete necessary procedures by the end of this year.

Prodan said that they had inspected the 3rd and 4th units of Khmelinitsky NPP and had seen that their construction could be continued. “We have conducted a tender among companies from Korea, the United States and Russia. The results will be summed up in early Oct. The potential producer of the reactor for the units has been selected, the feasibility study is to be finished by the fourth quarter of 2009,” Prodan said.

President of Energoatom NAEC Yuri Nedashkovky said that Ukraine had to improve its legislation in the fields of treatment of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, allocation of nuclear facilities and extension of lives of existing NPPs. He said that long-term soft loans should be the key source of financing for NPP construction projects.

Deputy Director of Atomenergoprom OJSC Vladislav Korogodin said that Russia had carried out structural reforms in its nuclear industry and was ready to rise to a new level of cooperation with such strategic partner as Ukraine.

Vice President of TVEL OJSC Vasily Konstantinov pointed out that Russia was ready to consider the possibility of joint production of nuclear fuel for Ukrainian NPPs if that direction proved economically expedient. “We are interested in creating an alternative supplier of fuel for WWER-1000 reactors as this would guarantee uninterrupted supplies. Presently, we are coordinating the agreement for providing Ukraine with technology for production of fuel assembly components from stainless steel. We are expecting to sign this document very shortly,” Konstantinov said.

Vice President of Atomstroyexport CJSC Alexander Glukhov said that before starting negotiations for the construction of the 3rd and 4th units of Khmelnitsky NPP it was necessary to study the experience of the construction of Kudankulam NPP. “We hope that we will be able to make a competitive offer in an open tender. Atomstroyexport is ready to offer an “NPP+fuel” complex,” he said.