Thaindian News

Tehran, March 25 (IANS) Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) head Fereidoon Abbasi said his country is willing to work with Russia on more nuclear power plants, reports said Sunday.

“Since the Russian contractor of Bushehr nuclear power plant has worked properly (on the project) in recent years … we are willing to work with them on several more power plants,” Abbasi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency, reported Xinhua.

Bushehr nuclear power plant has already reached 75 percent of its capacity, he said, expressing hope that the power plant will approach its final capacity of 1,000 MW in late May.

The Russian State Atomic Agency Rosatom on Wednesday announced that work at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran was proceeding as scheduled.

“There are no deviations from the schedule, everything is going in accordance with the dates set earlier,” Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Rosatom said.

“Our position is highly tough. There is a deadline, and everything will be completed by that date,” Kiriyenko said, adding that Rosatom was not going to complete any work ahead of the plan at the cost of safety.

Rosatom plans to switch the Bushehr plant to full power in the first half of 2012.

However, the Rosatom chief said that Russia will not build more nuclear power plants in Iran.

Construction of the Bushehr plant began in 1975 by several German companies. However, work halted when the US imposed an embargo on hi-tech supplies to Iran after the 1979 revolution.

Russia signed a contract with Iran to complete the construction in 1998. Completion of the plant’s construction has been postponed several times by mounting technical and financial challenges and pressure from Washington.