Armenian Nuclear Power Plant's service life could be extended until 2046 - PM

YEREVAN. Feb 11 (Interfax) - The Armenian Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant's service life could be extended until 2046, with the construction of a new power unit currently under discussion, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

"We are now in the process of extending the Metsamor NPP's life until 2036. After that it might be possible to extend it by another 10 years, until 2046," Pashinyan said during government hour in parliament on Wednesday.

He said a decision on whether to build a new power unit should be made during that time.

"We are discussing this issue with Russia, the United States, France, South Korea and China," Pashinyan said.

The Russian state corporation Rosatom has given Armenia a package of detailed proposals on the construction of a new nuclear power plant unit, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin said at the end of December.

The Armenian NPP is one of the country's main sources of electricity. The station operates a single power unit, with a first generation VVER-440 reactor, and its fuel is supplied by Russia's TVEL.

The United States will invest $9 billion in Armenia's nuclear energy sector, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in Yerevan on February 9. This is a mutually beneficial program for energy sustainability and security for both the U.S. and Armenia, he said. "It means small modular reactors, American technology is going to be coming to this country [Armenia]," Vance said.