Belarus demands compensation from Russia for delays in nuclear power plant project

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (Photo; New York Times).

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the construction of the BelNPP nuclear plant near the city of Astravets in the western Grodno region has been completed, but he also raised the issue of compensation with the Russian side due to delays in the plant's operation due to the enemy's fault.

BelNPP - Belarus's only nuclear power plant, consisting of two units with a capacity of 1.2 GW - was scheduled to begin operating in 2020 but the deadline has been pushed back several times due to repairs, according to Newsweek .

"The commissioning of the nuclear power plant has been delayed by the Russian side. Naturally, according to the contract, we have raised the issue of compensation," Belarusian news agency BelTA quoted Lukashenko as saying. "We raised this issue because the deadline was not met and the responsibility lies with the Russian side."

President Lukashenko revealed that Russia has offered compensation options, such as supplying new nuclear fuel at domestic Russian prices and a five-year warranty on the main units.

"I think we shouldn't demand too much because we produce enough electricity anyway," Mr Lukashenko said. "But a deal is a deal."

The Belarusian president added that the government needs to find out whether the options offered by the Russian side are commensurate with Belarus.

The first and second units of BelNPP were connected to the national grid in November 2020 and May this year, respectively, according to Interfax . The second unit is expected to begin commercial operation in the fall.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/belarus-doi-nga-boi-thuong-vi-cham-tre-du-an-nha-may-dien-hat-nhan-20231101160312420.htm