You're reading: Blueprints of Ukrainian nuclear fuel plant to be approved in autumn

Moscow – The blueprints of Ukraine's proposed nuclear fuel production plant, a joint venture of Russia's OJSC TVEL and Ukraine's Nuclear Fuel State Concern, are to be approved this autumn.

The CEO of the directorate for cooperation with the CIS and Eastern Europe at TVEL, Oleg Grigoryev, told Interfax that the designing of blueprints is finished and the documents have been sent for state examination. After the examination’s completion, the documents will be sent to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for approval.

“The project participants expect that the project blueprints will be approved in October-November 2013,” he said.

He also said that it was decided to separate a project for preparation works to accelerate the pace of the realization of the project. Its examination is to be finished soon, and then the JV will be able to begin preparation works on the construction site, which will be started at once after the selection of a general contractor and signing of the relevant agreement with him,” Grigoryev said.

As for an additional issue of the shares of the JV, Grigoryev said that TVEL was ready to invest the funds in the terms set, although the Ukrainian concern asked to postpone the corporate procedures.

“At the end of August we’ll start corporate procedures and we’ll finish them by the end of the year,” he said.

As reported, TVEL and Nuclear Fuel by July 1, 2013 were to invest $84 million in the share capital of the plant via an additional issue of shares, although the funds have not yet been sent.

The total cost of the project under the feasibility study is about $462 million, 30% of which is to be contributed by the shareholders, while the remaining funds are to be attracted. The shareholders should in 2013 contribute about $120 million in the project in equal shares, $20 million of which was transferred in 2012. Starting from 2014, Nuclear Fuel Plant will raise loan funds.

The plant according to its qualification and licensing will meet Ukraine’s demand for nuclear fuel.

A plant in Smolyne, which is under construction, will produce fuel assemblies. Such assemblies are used at four units at Kalinin nuclear power plant (NPP), unit 6 at Bulgaria’s Kozloduy NPP, at two units at Temelin NPP in the Czech Republic, as well as 13 units at Ukrainian NPPs.

The designed capacity of the plant is 800 assemblies per year. The number of personnel will be about 380 people.

The agreement on the plant’s construction was signed in October 2010. In 2011, the registration of the Russian-Ukrainian joint venture for the construction of a nuclear fuel plant was completed. Some 50% plus one share in the plant belong to Ukrainian-based Nuclear Fuel state concern, and a 50% minus one share stake to TVEL.