Iran's Nuke plant to be ready in early '08

The nuclear power station in Bushehr, being built in Iran by Russian specialists, will be put into operation early in 2008. “Russia is fully determined to bring the construction in Bushehr to its logical end by putting into operation the nuclear power station,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Kislyak said. According to the Russian diplomat, “the question which delayed the commissioning of the Bushehr station is of economic and technical rather than of political nature”.

“The problem is that our Iranian colleagues had shouldered an obligation to pay for services of Russian specialists by definite portions in definite periods. There were some hitches in this respect. Therefore, it turned out that our company had to credit the construction of the station, which was not in its plans,” Kislyak explained. The deputy minister had difficulty with replying to the question on a sum of Iran’s debt to the Russian side for the station in Bushehr, since, according to the deputy minister, this is the jurisdiction of economic rather than diplomatic organisations.

“In any case, the time of putting the power station into operation, planned for the end of this year, will be shifted to 2008.” Kislyak said.

The contract on construction of the first power unit of the Bushehr nuclear power station was signed in Tehran on January 8, 1995. Under this document, Russia shouldered a pledge to supply one reactor of the VVER-1000 type, to train Iranian specialists and to deliver fuel for the reactor.

Head of the Russian Federal Service for Nuclear Production (Rosatom) Sergei Kirienko reiterated many times that the set periods for commissioning the station would be inevitably shifted to 2008 over insufficient funding. (Article)