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Belarusian nuclear power plant to cost less than $10bn
MINSK, 19 April (BelTA) – The cost of building the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be lower than the previously mentioned sum of $10 billion. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the relevant statement as he answered questions from parliamentarians after delivering his address to the nation and the parliament on 19 April, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said that the problem had been discussed at one of his meetings with President of Russia Vladimir Putin. The Belarusian head of state drew attention of his Russian counterpart to the fact that the Belarusian-Russian credit agreement provides for lending up to $10 billion while the real price will be less than $7 billion. “The cost of the nuclear power plant will be lower. We will see it once all things are done. But I’ve mentioned this figure to Vladimir Putin once,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president stressed that he had publicly mentioned these facts after one of the MPs quoted the Russian ambassador saying Russia had reduced the cost of construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant by $3 billion. “Russia didn’t reduce the price for the nuclear power plant. If the ambassador said that, the statement harms Russia,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “It is a commercial secret. The contract price shouldn’t be made public,” he explained.
The head of state added that the Belarusian nuclear power plant will also be cheaper because spending is closely overseen.
Speaking about the expected cost of electricity for households and companies after the Belarusian nuclear power plant is commissioned, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted he was genuinely interested in making the price as low as possible. “I am not an anti-popular president. If the price is lower, we will not try to inflate it,” the head of state guaranteed.
The commissioning of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will allow the country to reduce dependence on oil and natural gas. In particular, Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned projections relating to natural gas. “We will reduce dependence by 5-6 billion m3,” he said.
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