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MINSK, 23 March (BelTA) – Documents required to issue the license for operating the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant may be submitted to the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry in October 2016 at the earliest. The statement was made by Natalya Gorelik, Head of the Licensing, Permissions, and Expert Evaluation Office of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department, during the conference held as part of the civil engineering expo Stroyexpo on 23 March to highlight the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA has learned.

“We are in between licenses now. The period will last till October 2016. After that we expect to receive the documents required to issue the license to operate the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant,” said Natalya Gorelik. The official did not specify exactly when the documents will be submitted. “It will be done when they are ready. October at the earliest,” she said.

The documents will be evaluated by experts. “The Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry will have one month to prepare technical specifications. After that the expert organization will have one year to complete expert evaluation. If necessary, the term can be expanded. Another month will be needed to sum up the expert evaluation report. After that the decision on whether the license should be issued or not will be made. Thus, at least 14 months will be needed,” explained the official.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). In line with the general contract for building the nuclear power plant the first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, with the second one to go online in 2020.