OREANDA-NEWS. A festive ceremony of commencement of works at the foundation pit of the main buildings of Unit 2 of Bushehr NPP (Bushehr-2 Project) took place in the province of Bushehr (Iran).    

The ceremony was opened by Alexey Likhachev, General Director of Rosatom State Corporation, and Ali Akbar Salehi, Vice-President and Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.  The event was attended by heads of atomic industry companies of the two countries, Irani nuclear industry specialists, representatives of the local authorities and the population of the city of Bushehr. 

As per the contract for the second stage of Bushehr NPP signed in November 2014, two power units of the Russian design with the total capacity of 21000 MW are to be constructed next to power unit No 1 which is already operational. 

The Russian power units VVER-1000 are a referent generation 3+ design that complies with the strictest post-Fukushima safety requirements.  In September 2016 the first stone was laid for the construction followed by preparatory works at the site.  The arrangement of the foundation pit marks a transfer to the stage of practical implementation of Bushehr-2 Project. 


Before the ceremony A.Likhachev and A.A.Salehi visited the operating unit 1 of Bushehr NPP which became the symbol of cooperation between Russia and Iran in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy. The power unit, which Russian nuclear specialists actually completed after the previous contractor, using original know-how for the Russian VVER reactor and training Irani operators, was the first in the Middle East and unique for the global nuclear industry.  After its commissioning in 2011, Unit No 1 has proven its operational reliability.   

While greeting the ceremony participants, Rosatom general director stated that cooperation experience already gathered will help experts of both countries to effectively solve any task within Bushehr-2 NPP project. “I am sure that this biggest Russian and Iranian project is a symbol of our cooperation both for our generation and for the generation of our children. As of today circa 25 bln. kWh have already been generated at the first Bushehr power unit – and it is a considerable contribution to the economy of Iran, that makes it possible to direct additional funds to the development both of social and industrial sectors of the country”, Mr. Likhachev said.