The construction of a nuclear power plant in Bushehr is on schedule and no particular problems have been experienced. Alexander Afrov, director of the organization building the plant, said, "the schedule adopted in July 2003 is being adhered to, and the main construction is 93% complete. The level of the unit's overall readiness is almost 75%. The remaining equipment is being loaded on sea and ground transportation. And as planned, the generating unit will be commissioned for service in October-December 2006."
To be more specific, several schedules were drawn up during construction and all of them had specific deadlines, because this project was unparalleled in the world. Russia had to continue from where others, Siemens, left off. The reactor was practically complete when its walls were badly damaged from missile attacks during the Iranian-Iraqi war (1980-88). German specialists suspended work and left Bushehr.
After the end of the war, no one was willing to finish construction on the crippled nuclear facility. Only Russia responded to Iran's call. During that time, Russia was experiencing the repercussions of the Soviet Union's collapse - a grave social and -political crisis and a veritable economic slump. At the time, specialists needed jobs. However, today all of them say: "God forbid we ever undertake another project like this."
The abandoned facility was exposed to the sun and desert winds for nearly 20 years. Afrov said, "completing the main part of the construction was not the most difficult job. Things were much more complicated with equipment, as Siemens had already brought in about 35,000 pieces to the plant, but many of them could not be used. A joint Russian-Iranian commission did the enormous job of sorting the equipment and found no more than 5,000 suitable pieces. However, all of them had to be matched against the Russian blueprints - dimensions differed and so did the layout. It was also necessary to manufacture new equipment."
Initially, the contract stipulated that the reactor, equipment, the automatic process control system, and a system to process radioactive waste would be Russian-made. "All of them, with the exception of a few elements, are now ready and in Bushehr," said Afrov. "We expect to finish the assembly by the end of 2005. Then, in about six months, we - Russian and Iranian specialists - will start it and make adjustments. The final stage will be the delivery of nuclear fuel from Russia."
The VVER-1000 reactor (a water-water 1,000 MW reactor) being built by Russian specialists in Bushehr has been inspected by IAEA experts and its safety levels were found to meet international standards. As regards the nuclear technicians at the future Bushehr plant, they are currently being trained at the Novo-Voronezh research center in southern Russia. Their three-year in-depth course includes fundamental physics, reactor constructions and operating the technology.
