OREANDA-NEWS. August 28, 2009. There is certain progress in the issue of construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus by Russian specialists, the assistant to the President of Russia Sergey Prikhodko said after the meeting of the Russian and Byelorussian presidents in Sochi on Thursday.

“The positions of the sides have become closer. This project is being actively discussed,” Prikhodko said.

He said that the project was discussed during the Sochi meeting of Presidents Medvedev and Lukashenko.

“The head of Rosatom and the relevant Byelorussian structures will be given necessary instructions,” Prikhodko said.

In early Aug Russia and Belarus coordinated draft inter-governmental agreement for the construction of Byelorussian Nuclear Power Plant.

Shortly, the sides are planning to discuss the conduct of the feasibility study.

Russia’s participation in the construction of the first Byelorussian NPP is stipulated by the protocol signed during the visit of Rosatom’s delegation to Belarus in Jan 2009. Atomstroyexport has been selected as the general contractor of the project. His rivals were Areva and Westinghouse-Toshiba.

Byelorussian NPP will have two 1,200MW reactors based on St.Petersburg Atomenergoproekt’s NPP-2006 project. The 1st unit is supposed to be launched in 2016, the 2nd one – in 2018. The plant will be situated in Ostrovets, Hrodna region.

Russia and Belarus yet have to come to terms on financing. In June Belarus asked Russia to lend it USD 9bln for the project and to create necessary construction and maintenance infrastructure. No decision on the loan has yet been passed.