Bielarusian Nuclear Power Plant

The construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus is an essential part of the programme of reducing the country’s dependence on Russian natural gas – if it is put into operation, it is expected to reduce demand for this fuel by 5 billion m3 annually. 

In mid-2006, the government of Belarus decided to have a nuclear power plant built with an electrical capacity of 2,000 MW. Two years later, four manufacturers from Russia, USA, France and China submitted their tenders. Eventually, the Russians were awarded the contract. Initially, three locations were identified as possible construction sites: Krasnaya Polyana, Kukshinova (both in the Mogilev Oblast) and Astravyets. In December 2008, a decision was made to choose the latter, located at a distance of 23 km from the Lithuanian border and 55 km from Vilnius. In 2009, it was announced that the main contractor building the power plant would be Atomstroyexport. In March 2011, an intergovernmental agreement on construction was signed, and in October of the same year, the newly appointed Directorate for the Construction of a Nuclear Power Plant signed a preliminary agreement with the contractor, and the final one was signed in July 2012. In the same month, the Belarusian company Grodnoenergo signed a contract with the Chinese company North China Power Engineering for the construction of a power line connecting the power plant with the national grid. The investment plan assumed construction of two AES-2006 units with V-491 pressurised water reactors – the entity awarded the contract in the tender procedure related to their supply was Atomenergomash (AEM). They were made at the AEM-Technologies plant in Volgodonsk. Work at the construction site began in November 2013. In mid-2016, the construction of unit no. 1 was 30% complete, and its commissioning was planned for mid-2019. Commissioning of unit no. 2 is planned for mid-2020.

The following Rawlplug products were used:

• R-XPT-HD mechanical anchors (for installation of air-conditioning units)

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