Russia approves $270M credit to extend Armenian NPP operation term

PanARMENIAN.Net - The government of Russia approved provision of a $270 million credit to the Republic of Armenia to finance the extension of exploitation term of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).

The credit will be provided for the period of 15 years, the Russian cabinet of ministers said in a statement.

As was reported in early November, before the end of 2014 Armenia and Russia were planning to sign an intergovernmental agreement to extend the service life of the Armenian nuclear power plant in Metsamor until 2026.

Under the agreement, Armenia and Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom will implement a set of measures to extend operation of the facility until 2026.

The Metsamor plant, located some 30 kilometers west of Yerevan, was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating earthquake in 1988 that killed some 25,000 people and destroyed much of northern Armenia.

One of the plant’s two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was reactivated in 1995. The government wants to build a new facility that is supposed to operate at twice the capacity of the Soviet-constructed one. The plant currently generates some 40 percent of Armenia's electricity. But the government has yet to attract funding for the project that was estimated as much as $5 billion