Private Nuclear Power Plant To Be Built in Russia

Prime Minister Putin signed a decree to build a nuclear power plant in the Kaliningrad region. The Baltic Nuclear Power Plant is expected to become Russia’s first NPP built with the participation of private and foreign capital.

Photo: Private Nuclear Power Plant To Be Built in Russia

Private Nuclear Power Plant To Be Built in Russia

The Baltic Nuclear Power Plant is to be built in the Nemansky district of the Kaliningrad region, the website of the Russian government said Wednesday.

Russia’s nuclear corporation Rosatom coordinated the construction of the plant with the Ministry for Nature and other interested departments, the message posted on the official website said.

News agencies previously reported that Putin signed a decree to allocate funds for the construction of nuclear power plants. It was also reported that Putin harshly criticized Russian energy companies and their owners for delays in fulfilling obligations within the scope of investment programs, Interfax reports.

“Today I signed the decree to allocate 53 billion rubles for the construction of nuclear power plants,” Putin stated Wednesday.

The prime minister stressed out that several Russian energy companies did not execute the state-funded work on which they had been contracted.

“OGK-2 – Mr. Potanin is the chief shareholder, TGK-2 – Mr Lebedev is the prime shareholder, TGK-4 – Mr. Prokhorov is the main shareholder, the Complex Energy Mystem – Mr. Vekselberg,” Putin said naming the companies and their owners who can be referred to as Russia’s richest people.

Putin reminded that the new owners of the Russian energy system assumed serious obligations to invest in the development of the nation’s industry after the reform of the energy giant RAO UES (United Energy System). A part of the obligations were secured with additional issue of shares. The volume of the attracted funds totaled 450 billion rubles. It was the state money, which was provided during the reform for the development of the electric power industry, as Putin said.

“Nevertheless, only 270 billion of the amount were spent on the implementation of investment projects. Sixty-six rubles were used to maintain companies’ activities, to purchase various non-profile assets, which had nothing to do with the electric power industry. Frankly speaking, those funds were used speculatively,” Putin stated.