Russia's Rosatom outlines plans for Argentina

Friday, 24 April 2015

Russia's Rosatom has released details of an inter-governmental agreement to build Argentina's sixth nuclear power reactor.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed yesterday in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, establishes a "framework for cooperation" for construction of a 1200 MWe VVER unit in the South American country, the state nuclear corporation said.

Rosatom director general Sergey Kirienko - who signed the MoU with Julio de Vido, Argentina's minister of federal planning, public investment and services – said work on an agreement for construction of the reactor was already under way and that he hoped the final deal would be signed by the end of the year. Rosatom is offering Argentina Generation III+ nuclear power technology that "fully meets" modern safety requirements and which is "highly cost-effective", he said.

"Russia's unique experience of nuclear power construction is known throughout the world and the high quality of its plants has been proven. I'm confident that the agreement on which we are already working will be mutually beneficial and long term," he said.

JSC Rusatom Overseas and Nucleoeléctrica Argentina SA (NASA) also signed a preliminary project development agreement on construction of the reactor in Argentina. The document was signed by Dzhomart Aliev, CEO of JSC Rusatom Overseas and Jose Luis Antunez, president of NASA.

The document "defines the scope of cooperation, the rights and obligations of the parties, financial and other terms of interaction during the development of a nuclear power plant construction project based on Russian technologies in Argentina," Rosatom said. It includes provision for Russian state financing at preferential rates and some technology transfer. The two countries will also work together to sell VVER technology in South America and Africa, Rosatom said.

A day earlier, Rosatom nuclear fuel manufacturing subsidiary TVEL signed two memoranda of understanding with the National Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina and INVAP SE.

All the latest agreements on cooperation develop an inter-governmental agreement of 12 July 2014 on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy signed during Putin's official visit to Argentina. On 1 March, Kirchner announced her government's intention to cooperate with Russia during her annual speech at the opening of the Argentine Congress' ordinary session.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News