Belarus ratifies updates to nuclear power plant agreement with Russia

23 May 2024

The Belarus council of ministers has ratified protocol amendments which allow extension of the warranty period from those in the original 2011 intergovernmental agreement with Russia for the construction of the country's nuclear power plant.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant, built at Ostrovets (Image: Rosatom)

According to the official Belta news agency, the ratification is of the amendments which were agreed between the two countries in November 2023.

It says: "According to the protocol, the two-year warranty period for the operation of the equipment established by the agreement can be extended for a longer period. Certain equipment may have a longer warranty period. In addition, the agreement contains a provision that the procedure for setting the price of nuclear fuel and the terms of its supply are agreed upon by the Russian and Belarusian competent authorities."

The Belarus nuclear power plant has two VVER-1200 reactors and is located in Ostrovet in the Grodno region. A general contract for the construction was signed in 2011, with first concrete in November 2013. Construction of unit 2 began in May 2014. The first power unit was connected to the grid in November 2020, with the second unit put into commercial operation in November 2023. The amendment to the original agreement was part of measures to resolve issues relating to the project taking longer than original envisaged.

In January this year, Belarus and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear technology, with a multipurpose nuclear research reactor one of the possible results.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News