Russian State Duma ratifies protocol to restructure BelNPP loan

MOSCOW, 10 March (BelTA) - The Russian State Duma ratified the protocol to amend the Belarusian-Russian intergovernmental agreement on the state export credit to the Belarusian government to build a nuclear power plant of 25 November 2011, BelTA has learned.

This protocol was signed in Moscow on 14 July 2020. The document formalizes the loan repayment terms revised on the initiative of Belarus in connection with a fall in oil and gas prices and postponement of the commissioning of power units, which has affected the profitability of the nuclear project and increased its payback period. The protocol contains the following terms for restructuring Belarusian obligations: extension of the loan use period for 2 years - until the end of 2022; postponement of the grace period on the principal from 1 April 2021 to 1 April 2023; replacement of the current mixed interest rate on the loan with the fixed interest rate of 3.3% per annum.

During the ratification, the official representative of the Russian government, Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov said that as of 1 March this year some $4.7 billion of the $10 billion loan provided for the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant was used. According to him, the estimated cost of the construction will be about $6 billion. "There are no overdue obligations on the part of Belarus under the agreement," Timur Maksimov stressed.