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| Work On Bushehr Plant May Be Delayed | ||
| 2007-02-19 | ||
Moscow, 19 Feb. (AKI) - Work on Iran's nuclear power plant of Bushehr, which is being built with Russian technology, could be delayed because Tehran is late with payments, news reports quoted Russian officials as saying on Monday. Iran is expected to pay 1 billion dollars to Russia to help it build the plant in southern Iran. Tehran did not confirm or deny the reports.
"Financing of the project by the Iranian side has practically been frozen since mid-January," Irina Yesipova, spokeswoman for lead Russian contractor Atomstroiexport, told the AFP news agency.
Moscow, a veto-holding member of the Security Council, backed limited UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme last December. World powers dropped objections to Russia's construction of the Bushehr plant after Russian officials, who had long opposed sanctions against Iran, agreed to back the resolution unanimously voted by the Council on 23 December. Iran has repeatedly refused to halt sensitive nuclear work the international community fears is aimed at building nuclear weapons, claiming it is solely for civilian use. Additional: Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Iran's first nuclear reactor won't start as expected this year because of supply and financing delays and it may be postponed indefinitely, the Russian agency building the power plant said. United Nations sanctions over Iran's enrichment program are making it difficult for the Islamic Republic to find non-Russian suppliers for cooling systems and other components needed to finish the Bushehr reactor, Russian officials said. ``The schedule for the Bushehr plant will need to be corrected,'' said Sergei Novikov, spokesman for Russia's Atomic Energy Agency, by phone in Moscow today. The Iranians stopped making scheduled payments to Russia more than a month ago, after insisting on paying in euros instead of dollars, Novikov said. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization rejected the accusation over payments, a spokesman, who declined to be identified, said by phone. Iran has made all payments and Russia is responsible for providing all the nuclear plant's equipment, he said. Russia says Iran is responsible for procuring non-Russian components. Russian Atomic Energy Agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko, a former prime minister, said in Tehran in December that Bushehr would start producing electricity by November, provided Iran meets all payments and secures supplies of key reactor components from non-Russian producers. If those criteria are met, Kiriyenko said Russia would supply fuel to the reactor six months from the start of production. ``The problem of equipment supplies is even worse than the lagging payments,'' said Andrei Cherkasenko, Chairman of ZAO Atompromresource, a non-state company that helps finance nuclear projects for the Russian government, in an e-mailed statement. A non-Russian company has agreed to supply the cooling systems, though no sooner than at the end of this year, Cherkasenko said, declining to name the company. ``That means the reactor cannot be completed for several months after this.'' Russia may not want to complete the reactor, said Ruslan Pukhov, director of Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. The $1.3 billion project, started in 1995, isn't profitable and has been a constant headache for Russia, he said. ``If Bushehr ceased to exist, it'd be easier for everyone involved, apart from the Iranians, of course,'' Pukhov said. Iranian negotiators are expected to fly to Moscow next week to discuss the Bushehr delays, RIA Novosti reported today, citing an unidentified Russian government official. | ||
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 "No worries America, you don't need to bomb uranium manufacturing facilities now." Iran doesn't want a power plant, Iran wants nuclear missiles. Bushehr doesn't matter one iota toward that... and the uranium refining has continued unceasingly. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-02-19 14:41 |