Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Areg Galstyan announced the news at a government meeting on power industry issues. According to him, Russia has made the first disbursement of a USD 270m loan provided for the nuclear station modernization project. The tranche amount was not announced. “Stress tests carried out at the power station have proved that its service life can be considerably extended provided that we resolve technical issues,” said Areg Galstyan.
He also said that Yerevan would host a large seminar in October with the IAEA participation to discuss technical aspects of the power station safety improvement. “If experts give a positive opinion following the physical survey, the power station will be shut down for repairs and retrofit in 2017–2018,” said Galstyan. On 5 May 2015, the Armenian Parliament gave its approval of two Russian-Armenian agreements related to the service life extension of the Armenian NPP and financial assistance for the project.
According to the agreement, Russia will provide Armenia with a USD 270m loan facility and a USD 30m grant. The loan is made for 15 years at a 3% interest rate, with a 5-year grace period. The credit facility agreement provides for the disbursement option in Russian rubles. The agreement for the service life extension till 2026 was signed in late December 2014. The only nuclear station in the Southern Caucasus, the Armenian NPP is located 30 km to the west of Yerevan. Currently, Unit 2 is the only unit in operation with a capacity of 407.5 MW.
The Russian-designed Armenian NPP has two VVER-440 reactors. It withstood the strongest 7 magnitude earthquake in Spitak in 1988. Under the threat to its safety in the seismic region and possibility of further shocks, the Armenian Government decided to shut down the two units in 1989. However, on the back of power shortage, transport isolation and absence of hydrocarbon reserves, another decision was made in 1993 to restore the nuclear station and restart Unit 2. In 1995, the unit started generating power again after six and a half years out of operation.
The Russian-Armenian relations in the nuclear field are governed by the Agreement on Cooperation and New Nuclear Construction in the Republic of Armenia signed on 20 August 2010.
MetsamorEnergoAtom Joint Venture was established on 19 December 2009 to carry out the construction project and act as the project owner. Shareholders of the company are Atomstroyexport and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia.
In July 2014, the Russian Government approved a road map providing for the development of the Armenian power industry and construction of a reactor unit. The construction project will start in 2018. The new unit is scheduled to be commissioned in 2026.
