ST. PETERSBURG, June 19. /TASS/. Russia has no intentions of abandoning its project to build the Bushehr nuclear power plant (NPP) in Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"I’ve already said that: our specialists are working in Bushehr. Their total number may reach 600 [people]. We are not leaving," Putin said at a meeting with heads of the world's leading news agencies, organized by TASS.
The construction of a nuclear power plant near the city of Bushehr in southern Iran was launched in 1975 by a West German concern, but was interrupted in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution broke out. On August 25, 1992, Russia and Iran signed an agreement to resume the construction of the plant. In September 2011, the first power unit was connected to the grid, and was officially handed over to Iran in September 2013.
In November 2014, a contract was signed for the construction of the second stage of the NPP - the second and third VVER-1000 power units. The cost of their construction stands at about $10 billion. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in September 2016, and construction began on November 10, 2019. The second and third power units are expected to be put into operation in 2025 and 2027, respectively.
At present, Tehran is building two more nuclear power plants: the 5,000-MW Sirik nuclear power plant in the southern province of Hormozgan, and 300-MW Karun NPP in the Khuzestan province in the southwest.