Construction of Russia-Ukrainian nuclear fuel plant in Ukraine

The construction of a Russian-Ukrainian nuclear fuels plant in Ukraine’s settlement of Smolino will begin in September 2013, the press service of the Ukrainian ministry of energy and the coal industry said on Friday. According to the press service, Ukrainian minister of Energy Eduard Stavitski on Friday held a meeting of the steering committee to discuss issues related to the beginning of the construction works, including crediting options. Participants in the meeting included officials from the Ukrainian ministry of energy, representatives from the local communities, executives from Ukraine’s Nuclear Fuels Plant Co and representative from the Russian side - managers of RuSat Overseas and TVEL companies. Earlier, Tatiana Amosova, the director of the Ukrainian state concern Nuclear Fuel said that the company had filed a report on the would-be plant’s nuclear safety with the state nuclear regulation inspection. She also said it was planned to issue additional shares of the joint venture Nuclear Fuel Plant this year. These shares are subject to redemption by shareholders in equal proportions. In her words, each party is to “pay 326 million hryvnias, or 84 million U.S. dollars half-and-half with the Russian side.” Ukraine will pay its share from the state budget. The plant’s first stage will be built in 2015. The project is being implemented by a Ukrainian-Russian joint venture. Its shareholders are Ukraine’s state concern Nuclear Fuel and Russia’s fuel company TVEL.