New Construction Work Begins at Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The excavation process for the construction of new sites for the second and third reactors of Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran began on Tuesday.

The project kicked off in a ceremony at Iran’s southern port city of Bushehr, attended by Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi, nuclear officials from Russia, and a number of Iranian lawmakers.

The second unit of Bushehr nuclear power plant is expected to take 10 years to complete. The third unit is also going to be built near the second one.

In November 2014, Nuclear Power Production and Development Company of Iran (NPPD) and Russia’s Atomstroiexport signed two contracts to work on parts of the project.

A total of $10 billion has been allocated for the construction of the two units.

The capacity of the second phase is expected to stand above 1,000 megawatts (MW). The total capacity of the two units of WWER-1,000 (Water-Water Energetic Reactor) will be 2,100 megawatts.