BelNPP project has higher support among Ostrovets residents than across country

The recent survey held by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus has showed that the Belarusian nuclear power plant project is getting a stronger support from residents of Ostrovets District than across the country, Head of the Information and PR Department of the state company Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant Eduard Svirid told an online conference hosted by BelTA on 1 December.

“It, among other things, is related to the fact that all the issues regarding the construction of the nuclear power plant are openly and regularly discussed with the public. The safety of the nuclear power plant is the issue number one. We explain and demonstrate it, including the choice of the construction site, the design of the plant and all stages of its construction,” he stressed.

According to Eduard Svirid, apart from the information center Ostrovets residents have other reliable information sources. Today over 1,000 residents of Ostrovets and Ostrovets District take part in the construction of the BelNPP. “Besides, specialists from other nuclear power plants have come to the town as well,” the expert added.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built 18km away from the town of Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The AES-2006 design developed by the Saint Petersburg-based R&D company Atomenergoproject was chosen for building Belarus’ first nuclear power plant. The first power-generating unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in 2018, the second one in 2020.