Belarus negotiating lower interest rate on Russian loan for nuclear power plant construction

Belarus and Russia are in negotiations on reducing the interest rate on the loan granted to build a nuclear power plant in Belarus, BelTA learned from Belarusian Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich during the plenary session of the Belarusian Energy and Ecology Forum on 9 October.

According to the source, the negotiations are proceeding at the level of the finance ministries. The Belarusian Finance Ministry is busy forming an additional package of documents, which will be forwarded to the Russian side soon. Viktor Karankevich said that the Energy Ministry will also be involved in this work and intends to take an active part in the negotiations.

The energy minister confirmed that the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant proceeds on schedule. The first power-generating unit will be commissioned in 2019. “We have a schedule. The general contractor and the customer follow it. They compare their notes on a weekly basis. There are deadlines. They are specified and must be observed,” said the official.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built using the Russian standard Generation III+ design AES-2006 near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2019, with the second one to go online in 2020. The credit line for building the nuclear power plant was opened for the period till 2035. As part of the credit line Russia may lend up to $10 billion to Belarus to cover 90% of the construction cost. The Belarusian side has to cover the remaining 10%.