"The decision to build Belarus' own nuclear power plant was made in 2008. This is a serious step towards strengthening energy security. Now we have a modern nuclear power plant, which is already working for the country's economy. Since the commissioning of the first power unit of the BelNPP, more than 9.6 billion kWh of electricity has been generated, which replaced a significant amount of natural gas," Viktor Karankevich said.
He noted that the nuclear power plant would satisfy the growing demand of the population and the real sector of the economy for electricity. Its use for heating and hot water supply is increasing. The construction of the BelNPP contributes to the development of not only energy, but also electric transport, medicine, and science.
“This is a large-scale project for Belarusian-Russian relations. In the future, cooperation with Rosatom will expand, including in the field of scientific and technical support for the operation of the station and the extension of its service life, the management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel,” the minister stressed.
On the sidelines of the Atomexpo forum, it is planned to sign a Belarusian-Russian intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in spent nuclear fuel management. As Viktor Karankevich noted, this is provided for by the union program for the nuclear energy development.
"The implementation of the project for the construction of Belarusian nuclear power plant gave not only a powerful impetus to the development of the energy sector, but also made it possible to move to a qualitatively new level of development of the economy and the country as a whole," the minister concluded.
