Its installation is scheduled for the second half of the coming summer. Below is our account of how things are going on this international construction site of Rosatom. One of the key components of the Belarus NPP, the reactor vessel was manufactured at Atommash plant in Volgodonsk after an almost 30-year break when Rosatom ordered vessels from third-party suppliers. The new component was accepted on 14 October 2015 and started its long way to the final point of destination.
The transportation of a 350-ton, 13-meter long component required extreme caution. First, the vessel was delivered to the cargo terminal on the bank of Tsimlyansk Reservoir (Don River) with a multi-axle truck at a walking speed. Loaded onto a barge, the cargo was transported by river to Veliky Novgorod. Then the vessel was transported by rail at daytime, with the only special flatcar left in the former USSR. Finally, the cargo was delivered to Bobrovniki, a railway station closest to the nuclear power plant.
NPP chief engineer Anatoly Bondar told us that Rosatom Group companies will manufacture 50 different items of equipment. Two out of four steam generators, each almost 330 tons, have been already delivered to the site, with the third machine now being prepared for shipment at the manufacturer’s works. Over 4,000 tons of machinery and equipment for the nuclear station will be shipped before 2018. Installation of the core power generating equipment will begin later this year.
Mikhail Mikhadyuk, Belarusian Deputy Minister of Energy, assured that the Belarus NPP was constructed in line with the schedule and the core equipment would be installed within the agreed time-limits. Delivery of main circulation pumps is scheduled for the period from February till September. Besides, the station expects to receive a vehicle airlock and diesel generators later this year. Diesel generators are necessary to ensure safety of the reactor units. Other equipment expected to be delivered in 2016 includes a process control system and components for the second reactor unit.
According to Anatoly Bondar, orders have been placed for almost all the components with long lead times. Increasingly more local businesses get involved in the procurement for the nuclear station. At present, Belarusian companies account for 7.5% of all the machinery.
“Work is going on simultaneously in the first and second reactor buildings and turbine islands. It means that the gap between the commissioning of Unit 1 and Unit 2 can be reduced as it has been at Russian-designed nuclear stations constructed abroad,” he noted. “The construction at two units went in parallel in the previous years, too. Moreover, we have built a training center and a fire station. Work continues at the backup diesel power stations, cooling towers and administrative facilities.
For example, the training center was commissioned in a pilot mode a few days ago so that future employees can start a training course. The training center features a full-scale simulator (by the way, made in Russia) imitating the reactor control panel.
A total of 102 different facilities are being constructed simultaneously on the site. The main task for the near future is to build the reactor containment and begin the reactor installation.” Talks are also underway between the Belarus NPP and TVEL to negotiate nuclear fuel supplies as provided for in the NPP construction agreement.
