Armenia expects work to be completed on extending NPP's operational life by 2027

YEREVAN. Dec 14 (Interfax) - At a meeting on Thursday, the Government of Armenia approved a draft agreement with Rusatom Service JSC worth $65 million as part of the program to extend the life of the Armenian nuclear power plant through 2036.

"To approve the signing of an agreement between Armenian Nuclear Power Plant CJSC and Rusatom Service JSC in the amount of $65 million for the purpose of work planned by the program to extend the life of the nuclear power plant," the government's decision says.

The project will be financed through a budget loan allocated to the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant. Work to extend the life of the station will be conducted from 2023-2026.

In March, the Armenian government decided to extend the life of the nuclear power plant through 2036.

The Armenian nuclear power plant entered operation in 1980. The station's two power units are equipped with first-generation Soviet VVER-440 reactors. The first unit has been shut down since 1989. The station generates up to 45% of all electricity produced in the country. The fuel supplier for it is TVEL.

In 2014, Russian and Armenia signed an intergovernmental agreement to extend the life of the NPP through 2026. Russia provided a state loan and grant of $189 million for these purposes, and 63.2 billion drams were allocated from Armenia's state budget.

In November 2022, Armenia signed a memorandum with Rosatom on the construction of a new nuclear power plant unit in the republic, which should enter operation after the closure of the existing plant in 2036.

The official exchange rate as of December 14 is 404.12 drams/$1.