Construction of VVER-1200 unit on Gulf of Finland began in 2024
The second tier of the inner steel containment has been installed for Unit 3 of the Leningrad 2 nuclear power station on the Gulf of Finland in Russia, state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.
The inner containment is part of the plant’s safety systems and, together with the outer containment, forms a double barrier designed to ensure leak-tightness under all operating conditions and protection against external impacts.
Leningrad 2-3 will be a VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor with a net capacity of 1,150 MW. Construction began in March 2024.
The installed segment weighs about 260 tonnes, said Rosatom, adding that following the latest works, the height of the reactor building has reached 22 metres out of a planned total of around 70 metres.
The full double containment structure is expected to be completed in 2028, said Rosatom. Installation of large nuclear island components, including the reactor pressure vessel and steam generators usually takes place before the containment is capped.
The Leningrad site has four units in operation and two that are permanently shut down. The operational units are Leningrad-3 and Leningrad-4, Leningrad 2-1 and Leningrad 2-2.
Leningrad-1 and Leningrad-2, both Soviet-era RBMK-1000 light-water graphite units, were permanently shut down in 2018 and 2020 respectively.Leningrad-3 and Leningrad-4, also of the RBMK-1000, are scheduled for retirement.
Concrete was poured in March 2025 for an eight unit at the site, Leningrad 2-4.
