Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has proposed building a new 1,000-megawatt nuclear power unit in Armenia as Yerevan weighs competing international offers, its head Alexey Likhachev said on Tuesday.
Likhachev made the remarks following talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan in Yerevan.
He said the talks followed agreements reached during Pashinyan's earlier discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
Likhachev described the talks as “deep in terms of expertise and broad in scope” and said nuclear energy had a future in Armenia “for decades to come”, according to Russian media.
“The task now before us is to formulate the most competitive proposal in the coming months so that Armenia can select a partner and vendor for the construction of a new unit,” Likhachev said, according to Russian state news agency Tass.
“We have submitted a concrete proposal to the Armenian government for a 1,000-megawatt unit based on our best-in-class VVER-1000 design,” he added.
Likhachev said Armenia was also considering extending the service life of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) until 2046.
Rosatom was prepared to carry out the necessary work if Yerevan proceeded with the extension, he said, although its economic viability would also need to be assessed.
“However, beyond technical feasibility, we must also consider economic viability,” Likhachev said, adding that extending the plant's operations would require substantial investment.
The ANPP was commissioned in 1976 and is located about 30 kilometres west of the Armenian capital Yerevan, around 16 kilometres from Türkiye's eastern border with Armenia.
The plant currently has one operational power unit, while another was shut down after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in 1988 that killed at least 25,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
Following Tuesday's talks, Rosatom said in a statement that the two sides had also discussed extending the ANPP's operating licence until 2036, as well as prospects for new nuclear power generation capacity in Armenia.
Pashinyan's office said Yerevan was considering proposals from international partners for the construction of a new nuclear power unit and expected to make a decision “in the near future”.
“Nikol Pashinyan emphasised that the final decision would be based exclusively on economic considerations, taking into account price, quality, safety, timelines, and guarantees,” the statement said.
His office added that Likhachev had presented options for a new nuclear power plant, as well as small- and medium-capacity power units and possible mechanisms for their implementation.
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