MOSCOW, January 2. /TASS/. Russia is discussing the construction of two small nuclear power plants with the government of Sri Lanka, Russian Ambassador to the island nation Levan Dzhagaryan told Ceylon Today.

"Recently, I met with Sri Lanka’s Nuclear Energy Council, the country’s nuclear agency and Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera. Our plan is to help Sri Lanka with the construction of two mini-NPPs, with a capacity of 55MW each," the Russian envoy said.

Two power units will be just the beginning, he said, to be followed by four and finally six power plants later on. "The proposal is very valuable, from several perspectives. Firstly, it would enable the country to save oil and coal. Secondly, the project will be environmentally friendly and safe. Besides, it will be inexpensive," the Russian diplomat specified.

Asked how fast a potential project could be implemented, Dzhagaryan said that everything would depend on Sri Lanka and on how long it would take to design the project. This could be done fast though, he said, because it is about building small NPPs. A potential visit by Russia’s state-run corporation Rosatom to Sri Lanka is currently being discussed for a closer examination of the details, Dzhagaryan said.