3 June 2014

Unit 2 of Ostrovets Plant in Belarus Under Construction

On 2 June 2014, first concrete was poured for the 2nd reactor at Belarus’s first nuclear power plant at Ostrovets. Construction was started on the 1st reactor in November 2013. Both units are Russian designed AES1200 MWe reactors and have been purchased with a loan provided by the Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank of $10 billion. The government of neighboring Lithuania has repeatedly criticized the safety of the project and has particular concerns as the proposed site is only 50 km from its capital Vilnius. In August 2013, the Lithuanian Prime Minister demanded that work be stopped on the project saying: “We have many concerns about safety and information we’ve asked for hasn’t been provided, we urge Belarus to refrain from unilateral actions, we await their response and expect them to abide by international treaties they’ve signed.” The official start up for unit one is November 2018 and unit two July 2020.