“Over the last few days, new restrictive measures have been set by the international community with frequent updates,” Fennovoima said.
It said the nuclear sector has not been included in these sanctions, but added the sanctions are expected to impact the Hanhikivi-1 project. “As details are not yet available, detailed impacts cannot be assessed for the time being.”
Fennovoima said it has commitments and contracts with project stakeholders including its own employees. The company said its duties and legal obligations remain unchanged “until there are changes to this framework through sanctions or binding decisions by the relevant authorities”.
Hanhikivi-1 is a joint project between the Fennovoima consortium of Finnish utilities and a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, which holds a 34% stake.
In October 2021, preparatory excavation work resumed at the Hanhikivi-1 site after a break of several years following revisions to the site boundaries. In April 2021, Fennovoima said commercial operation of Hanhikvi-1 was likely to begin a year later than planned in 2029. Fennovoima said total investment costs for the project had increased from €6.5-€7bn to €7-€7.5bn.
Finland’s president president Sauli Niinisto told reporters last week that Russia’s actions in Ukraine will have an impact on the security assessment for the joint Hanhikivi-1.
