Bushehr-2 / Excavation Of Foundation Pit Begins

1 Nov (NucNet): Excavation of the foundation pit for Iran’s Bushehr-2 nuclear power plant began on 31 October 2017, Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom said in a statement. The start of work was given in a ground-breaking ceremony attended by Rosatom’s director-general Alexey Likhachev and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, the statement said. In March 2017, construction work formally began at Bushehr-2, a pressurised water reactor unit of the Russian VVER-1000 design. In September 2017, Rosatom said site preparation works had begun for Bushehr-2 and -3, both of the same Russian design. Rosatom said at the time that first concrete for Bushehr-2 was planned for the third quarter of 2019. Construction of Bushehr-2 is expected to be completed in 2024 and of Bushehr-3 in 2026. Iran and Russia signed an agreement to build two additional units at Bushehr in November 2014. Official media in Iran said the construction of Bushehr-2 and -3 would cost about $10bn (€8.6bn). Bushehr-1 is Iran’s only commercial nuclear unit. It is a 915-MW pressurised-water reactor which was supplied by Russia and began commercial operation in September 2013.