Iran and Russia Begin Cooperation to Build Two New Power Plants in Bushehr

Iran commenced the construction of two new nuclear power plants in Bushehr in collaboration with Russia on Saturday, September 10. According to the schedule, the construction of these plants will take 9 to 10 years. The groundbreaking ceremony for these two plants was held with the presence of Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and Sergey Kirienko, CEO of Rosatom. Mr. Salehi announced at the ceremony that, according to the timeline, the first plant will be built in 108 months and the second plant in 126 months with the participation of Rosatom. He added that the construction of these two units will save approximately 22 million barrels of crude oil and prevent the emission of 14 million tons of pollutants into the atmosphere. The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization also stated that 'the implementation of the JCPOA paved the way for the execution of this project.' Salehi described the construction of these two power plants as a 'clear response' to those who believe that 'Iran's nuclear industry is facing stagnation and halt.' It is likely that Mr. Salehi was referring to domestic critics of the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement with world powers, who have repeatedly claimed that President Hassan Rouhani's government sacrificed progress in this industry for the sake of lifting sanctions. The estimated resources for the construction of these two new units at the Bushehr nuclear power plant are about ten billion dollars. This official also announced that these two units will proceed within the framework of the safeguards agreement with the agency and under the NPT, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, with specific objectives. Previously, the state-owned Rosatom had announced its intention to begin engineering for a new nuclear power plant in Bushehr by the end of the current year, 2016. Iran and Russia had previously collaborated on the completion of the first Bushehr power plant.