Technical design for completing Khmelnitsky NPP Stage 2 approved

Ukraine’s Acting Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Eduard Stavitsky and Sergey Kiriyenko, CEO of State Corporation Rossatom, have discussed cooperation of the countries in the field of nuclear-industrial complex. During the meeting in Moscow, the parties finished selection of technical design for completion of Khmelnitsky NPP Units 3 and 4 according to Russian technology, the Information-Analytical Bulletin of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine informs.

During the meeting, delegations discussed evaluation of investment attractiveness for Ukrainian and Russian nuclear-industrial facilities, namely, joint construction of nuclear fuel fabrication plant. Upon approval of design for construction of Khmelnitsky NPP units, financial aspect of the matter is not specified due to the fact that Rossatom is expecting a formal notification from Ukrainian authorities and concurrence of safety systems of future construction with IAEA.

At the same time, it became known that Russian prime contractor for construction of nuclear power plants Atomstroyexport, which won the tender for construction of Khmelnitsky NPP units, proposed to use an advanced reactor VVER-1000 (V-392B). As noted by government experts, VVER-1000 (nominal power 1000 MW) is the most common nuclear reactor in the world due to its safety features, which accounts for 7.3% (32 operating reactors) from total number of power reactors (all types) operated in the world.

Construction of the Khmelnitsky NPP Units 3 and 4 was suspended in 1990 after moratorium of Verkhovna Rada for construction of new NPPs in Ukraine. However, in 2010, at the meeting of Prime Ministers in Sochi Ukraine and Russia agreed to cooperate on completion of two Khmelnitsky NPP units, analysts say.