OMM Redaksiyası
Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom has proposed building a new 1,000-megawatt nuclear power unit in Armenia, its director general Alexey Likhachev said on Tuesday, according to Russian state news agency Tass.
Likhachev made the comments after talks in Yerevan with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan. He said the discussions followed agreements reached during Pashinyan’s earlier meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
“We have submitted a concrete proposal to the Armenian government for a 1,000-megawatt unit based on our best-in-class VVER-1000 design,” Likhachev said.
Armenia reviewing nuclear power proposals
Likhachev described the talks as “deep in terms of expertise and broad in scope” and said nuclear energy would remain important for Armenia “for decades to come”.
“The task now before us is to formulate the most competitive proposal in the coming months so that Armenia can select a partner and vendor for the construction of a new unit,” he said.
Yerevan is considering proposals from international partners and expects to make a decision “in the near future”, Pashinyan’s office said.
The Armenian prime minister’s office said the final decision would be based exclusively on economic considerations, including price, quality, safety, construction timelines and guarantees. It added that Likhachev had presented proposals for a new nuclear power plant, as well as small- and medium-capacity units and possible mechanisms for implementing the projects.
Service life extension also under discussion
Armenia is also considering extending the service life of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant until 2046. Rosatom is prepared to carry out the necessary work if Yerevan proceeds, Likhachev said.
“However, beyond technical feasibility, we must also consider economic viability,” he said, adding that an extension would require substantial investment.
Rosatom said the talks also covered extending the plant’s operating licence until 2036 and prospects for developing new nuclear generation capacity in Armenia.
The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant was commissioned in 1976 and is located about 30 kilometres west of the Armenian capital and roughly 16 kilometres from Türkiye’s eastern border with Armenia. It currently has one operational power unit.
A second unit was shut down after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in 1988 that killed at least 25,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
