Iran announces plans for the future activities of Bushehr and Arak nuclear plants

Tabnak – Despite the increasing US pressures on the Islamic Republic over the country’s nuclear program, Tehran appears determined to develop the program according to the accepted international standards. Iran’s newly announced plan in this sphere includes nuclear facilities in Bushehr and Arak.

According to the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), the concrete placement for construction of the second unit of a nuclear power plant near Iran’s southern port city of Bushehr will begin next month.

In an interview with ICANA, Ali Akbar Salehi said the Bushehr nuclear power plant 2 is under construction and the concrete placement operation is expected to begin in August. The second unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant is scheduled to come on stream in 6 years, while the third unit will be finished in 8 years, he added.

Salehi also noted that the second and third units of the Bushehr plant will increase the share of nuclear power in Iran’s electricity supply to amounts well beyond the current 2.7 percent.

In November 2014, the Nuclear Power Production and Development Company of Iran (NPPD) and Russia’s Atomstroiexport signed two contracts to work on parts of the 2nd and 3rd units. A total of $10 billion has been allocated for the construction of the two units.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Salehi said work on the reconstruction of the Arak heavy water reactor — a project jointly undertaken by China, Britain and Iran — has “picked up pace” following a pause.

“The joint committee tasked with redesigning the Arak Heavy Water Reactor Facility — comprised of Iran, China and Britain — is performing its job well,” said Salehi, Iran’s parliamentary news agency ICANA reported on Friday.

“We are consequently satisfied with the project’s progress because the reactor’s reconstruction has picked up pace after being delayed for several months,” he added.

The 40-megawatt Arak reactor is intended to produce isotopes for cancer and other medical treatments.

Under a multilateral deal initially inked between Iran and six world powers —including the US, China and Britain — in 2015, Iran agreed to redesign the Arak research reactor to cut its potential output of plutonium.

Washington and Beijing had initially formed a working group to assist Iran in redesigning the Arak facility. However, Britain later replaced the US, which abruptly abandoned the deal — officially named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — in 2018.

The nuclear chief further highlighted the importance of nuclear technology for the country’s energy sector, saying the Bushehr nuclear power plant is already generating an average of 2.7 percent of Iran’s electricity needs.

That figure, he added, would increase following the inauguration of Bushehr’s second and third nuclear power plants, which are slated to become operational in the next six and eight years, respectively.