Iran, Russia to start constructing two nuclear reactors

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran and Russia are to begin construction on two new nuclear reactors at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization in Tehran said late Wednesday, August 31, AFP reports.

The Islamic Republic is seeking to reduce its reliance on oil and gas with 20 nuclear facilities planned over the coming years, including nine being built with Russian firms.

“Operations to build two new nuclear power [units] in Bushehr will start on Sept. 10 and it will take 10 years for the power [units] to be completed,” Ali Akbar Salehi said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

He said the new reactors would cost an estimated $10 billion and lead to a saving of 22 million barrels of oil per year.

Russia built the 1,000 megawatt reactor at Bushehr on the Gulf coast that came online in 2013.

In November 2014, it signed a “cooperation contract” to help build the two new reactors on the same site, along with plans to eventually construct nine reactors across Iran.

Two of these may also come up at Bushehr, taking the total number of reactors at the site to five.

Tehran repeatedly fended off Western and Israeli accusations that its program was aimed at producing a bomb, insisting it is for purely civilian use.