The Celestial Empire prospects
Preparing for concrete pouring at unit 4 was finished one month ahead of schedule, while the rest of the second stage work is going on on time. “This is due to the large experience of Chinese constructors and atomists, as well as to our partnership”, – Valery Limarenko continued, noting also that the units of the first stage proved to be the most efficient ones built in China and one of the most reliable and safe in the world. He emphasized that the parties are trying their hardest to make their relationship flourish further.

In its economic development China is banking for peaceful atom, while Rosatom has everything needed to help it. The negotiations concerning potential construction of units 5-8 of the plant are already on. Besides, according to Mr. Limarenko, the project of constructing an NPP with fast breeder reactors, along with that of a floating NPP with lower-power reactors, is already at issue. “We truly hope that the third stage of the Tianwan NPP construction will be going on with Russian participation as well. May success and happiness attend you and your families on this glorious day!” – summed up Mr. Limarenko.

Strong basis
Another important event took place in Iran: the Bushehr NPP, perhaps, the most widely discussed one in mass media during the recent years, was handed over to the client to take control. The plant has a long history: it was founded almost 40 years ago, then mothballed for quite a while, for the works to be restarted in 1995 after signing a contract with Russia. In 1998 an addendum to the contract was issued, encharging Rosatom to finish construction on a turnkey basis and train Iranian operating personnel. The project capacity was attained in August 2012. While on September 23, 2013 a ceremony of signing a PA agreement with the presence of Ali-Akbar Salehi, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian and NIAEP Director Valery Limarenko, took place at the Bushehr NPP information center.

The Bushehr NPP gave a sound foundation to Russian-Iranian relationship in nuclear sphere. In his speech devoted to the transferring of the plant the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani noted that bilateral cooperation between the two countries was developing step by step with the Bushehr NPP being a good example of this cooperation and a vector for partnership in other spheres.

The Russian engineers will provide support to the Iranian technicians during the first two-year period, which means that Rosatom’s experts will stay at the site to consult personnel and offer technical support.

A construction of new NPP with the help of Rosatom is also possible. That’s what Ali-Akbar Salehi said again not a long time ago: “New NPPs are currently under negotiations with the Russian side”.

Just the beginning
The first stone is laid in the foundation of the Ruppur NPP in Bangladesh. The station to be built on the shore of Gang will become, according to Rosatom General Director Sergey Kiriyenko, the most up-to-date and safe in the world. Besides, Russian branch enterprises will be busy with orders for the coming years.

At the press-conference dedicated to the event, Sergey Kiriyenko said to journalists, that “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said today that the point of construction is that the first power units of the plant are just the beginning of nuclear energy development in the country, which means there’s more work to follow”. In other words, the construction of the second phase is possible.

The first contract, for the EI assessment, was signed in summer 2013, the second one – for full-scale engineering development – on October 2. “In fact, this is the basic design. The work will take approximately two years and upon its completion there will be the basis for getting appropriate licenses and for the start of the construction process, – said Valery Limarenko, President of the NIAEP-Atomstroyexport United Company. -This is a vital contract which shows seriousness of both parties’ intentions”.

For now the plant is planned to consist of two VVER-type reactors. Valery Limarenko pointed out that the design will be based on one of modifications of AES-2006 technology, which “will be used especially for the site and conditions, in which the plant will operate.” The site is located at a distance of 160 km from the country’s capital Dhaka; the future plant area is 105 hectares.

The Ruppur NPP start-up will not only solve the problem of lack of energy in Bangladesh (about 50% of the country’s territory have no energy access at all), but also will give a big push to economic development: first it means big investments, second – even the preparatory period next year will provide more than 1000 work places, while the construction stage – 6000 jobs.

Meeting atom
The symbolic stone-laying is the main but not the only reason for Russian atomists’ visiting Bangladesh. On October 1 at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novotheater the Nuclear Energy Information Center was inaugurated. The event is a result of implementation of the Memorandum of Intentions signed by Rosatom and the Ministry of Science and Technologies of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on June 4, 2012. The center is a complex that includes an up-to-date high-tech cinema equipped with panorama 3D projection, computer graphics and animation, stereo sound and interactive consoles and personal displays. The center’s target audience are schoolchildren, students, teachers of high schools and universities, public officials and representatives of non-governmental organizations and mass media and just anyone interested. The basic program of the center will be bilingual, offering information in English and Bengali.

Addressing the guests of the ceremony, Minister of Science and Technologies of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Yafesh Osman stated that the inauguration of the Nuclear Energy Information Center in Dhaka would facilitate nuclear power education of the country’s population. “I’m very glad this center has appeared. Now any Bangladeshi citizen can get basic knowledge in the sphere of nuclear energy”, – he said, also pointing out, that such a center showed the efficiency of Russian-Bangladeshi cooperation.

President of NIAEP-ASE Valery Limarenko said that the Russian party was perfectly aware of the necessity to inform the people of Bangladesh and was ready to share its expertise in public relations with the partners. “We offer the Bangladeshi colleagues our best technologies of working with the public opinion. The information centers have given a good account in Russia; there are 17 such centers already. And now we have come to Bangladesh with a rich experience and the latest and unique developments,” he pointed out.

Office for cooperation
The NPP construction on Russian project hasn’t started yet in Finland, though that’s where another event, important for Rosatom’s foreign constructions, took place: registering of Russian marketing office. Its specialists will be in charge of the partnership with Fennovoima in the Hanhikivi NPP building project, along with representing Russian nuclear enterprises in Finland. Alexander Volkov has become the head of the branch.

“Opening the office will help us to cooperate with Finnish companies better, both speaking about Hanhikivi and other possible joint projects not only in the sphere of nuclear energy”, – says Dzhomart Aliev, General Director of Rusatom Overseas, Rosatom’s promoter abroad.

Kirill Komarov, Rosatom’s Deputy General Director for International Business and Development, in his turn, is sure that the new marketing office will also simplify the inclusion of Finnish enterprises into the global network of Rosatom’s suppliers. “Russia and Finland have had a mutually profitable cooperation in nuclear industry for several decades. Today this cooperation is becoming increasingly important for Rosatom, taking into consideration the plans concerning the joint project with Fennovoima”, – he says.

Rosatom and Fennovoima are planning to sign the Hanhikivi NPP construction project by the end of the year.