13 Dec 2022 12:35

Rosatom has filed paperwork to bid at tender to build nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia - Novak

MOSCOW. Dec 13 (Interfax) - The state Rosatom corporation has filed the paperwork to bid at a tender to build nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia, Deputy Russian Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in an article for the Energy Policy journal.

"Paperwork has been submitted for the tender to build a nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia," he said.

He also sad another nuclear plant in Turkey was being discussed.

"Russia's nuclear industry it the world's biggest in terms of the size of its overseas projects portfolio: 34 power units in 11 countries are at various stages of implementation - this is over 70% of world exports of nuclear power plants," Novak said.

Novak told Asharq News in an interview in the middle of October that Rosatom would soon file the paperwork for the Saudi NPP tender.

Rosatom General Director Alexei Likhachev told reporters in November 2021 the Saudi partners described this not as a tender but as a competitive dialog. "They are conducting dialog on the terms for implementing the project with various countries and companies, and even with international consortia. And they are informing us about that quite openly," he said.

Russia and Saudi Arabia signed an intergovernmental agreement on peaceful atom in 2015. Saudi Arabia then declared its intentions to use the nuclear power sector, building 16 nuclear power units. The kingdom later changed the strategy and focused on two plants.

The "vendor show" started in fall 2017, and Russia and Saudi Arabia signed a roadmap on peaceful atom in December.

Novak, when still Russia's energy minister, told reporters in February 2018 that Rosatom had applied to take part on a big tender the construction of two units of a nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia. It was reported in July that Rosatom had been shortlisted for the next stage of the tender. Likhachev told reporters in late 2018 that Russia had progressed to the next stage of that tender.