Iran: Launch of Bushehr plant imminent

Tehran would soon declare a date for the formal launch of operation of its first nuclear power plant in the Southern port city of Bushehr, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereidoon Abbassi announced on Wednesday, Fars News Agency reported.

"God willing, we will announce the date for launching the Bushehr nuclear power plant in due time," Abbassi told reporters after a cabinet meeting here in Tehran today.

But, after he faced reporters' frequent questions about the exact date of Bushehr's operation, the official disclosed that Bushehr would soon start official operation and join the national grid.

Abbassi had announced last Wednesday that the country's first nuclear power plant will join the national power grid according to the timetable specified earlier.

"Our emphasis always lies on watching the power plant safety issues, and the safety-related processes are underway now. God willing, we will start power generation in the plant and will connect it to the national grid over time and after we are fully assured," Abbasi told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting.

Asked when the Bushehr nuclear power plant joins the national power grid, he reiterated that the AEOI is doing its job according to the specified timetable.

Iranian Envoy to Russia Seyed Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi had announced in April that Iran's first nuclear power plant would join the national power grid within two months.

Sajjadi said the atomic plant in Bushehr would start generating electricity in six weeks.

Earlier this month, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the main reactor of the Bushehr nuclear power plant would be launched within weeks.

"The final launch of Bushehr is a matter of the coming weeks," Ryabkov said.

Meantime, Iranian sources had earlier revealed that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev or Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as well as Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would take part in Bushehr's inauguration ceremony.

Bushehr Governor-General, Mohammad Hossein Jahanbakhsh said President Ahmadinejad and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev or prime minister Vladimir Putin will attend the inauguration ceremony.

The second consignment of fuel for the Bushehr nuclear power plant was delivered from Russia in April.

Iran signed a deal with Russia in 1995, according to which the plant was originally scheduled for completion in 1999. However, the project was repeatedly delayed by the Russian side due to the intense pressure exerted on Moscow by the United States and its western allies. Russia finally completed construction of the plant last summer.

On October 26, Iran started injecting fuel into the core of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in the initial phase of launching the nuclear reactor.

The facility operates under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).


/Trend/