USD 700 Million to Be Invested in Russian Nuclear Energy in 2003

The Russian Ministry for Economic Development and the Russian Federal Energy Commission have confirmed that USD 700 million will be invested in Russian nuclear energy in 2003. According to the press office of Rosenergoatom, about USD 346 million of this sum will be spent on completing construction of the N3 power-generating unit of the Kalininsky nuclear power plant in the hope that it will be ready and in use by the end of 2003. There are also plans to complete work on improving the N1 power-generating unit of the Leningrad power plant and the N1 unit of the Kola plant.

The 'Strategy to develop nuclear energy in the first half of the 21st century' programme, which has already received governmental approval, includes the completion and opening of several power-generating units by 2006, the construction of which had previously been delayed. These include the N3 unit of the Kalininsky plant, the N5 unit of the Kursk plant, the N2 unit of the Volgodonsk plant and the N5 unit of the Balakovo plant. After the completion of this programme, Russia's nuclear power capacity will total 29 billion watts, whereas in 2002 the power capacity was only 22 billion watts.

Rosenergoatom has also predicted that the company's investment programme for 2003 will cost 51.5% more than that of 2002 and will total about USD 943 million.

Rosenergoatom (Russian state concern for the production of electrical and heat energy in nuclear power stations) was founded in 1992. Since 2002 the concern has incorporated all 10 Russian nuclear power plants and 30 power-generating units.

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