24.07.2008 // Information Department of Leningrad NPP/Press service of Rosenergoatom Concern

Rosenergoatom Concern has approved the new system for management of Leningrad NPP-2 project introduced by St.Petersburg Atomenergoproekt

The management of Rosenergoatom Concern has approved the new system for the management of the construction of Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant-2 introduced by St.Petersburg Atomenergoproekt (SPbAEP OJSC), the general contractor of the project, during a meeting on July 22 2008.

The point is that the new system leaves “outside” the so-called sub-general contractors. From now on the whole management will be concentrated in the hands of SPbAEP, particularly, its branch in Sosnovy Bor. The director of SPbAEP Leonid Reznikov said that the branch would be opened only after relevant decision by the company’s shareholders.

The work under the project will be distributed among five sub-contractors but this is a preliminary decision yet as, according to the director general of Rosenergoatom Concern Sergey Obozov, SPbAEP has yet to negotiate with all the key players.

Obozov said that the parties to the project would be given 6 months-1 year for transition with the number of the sub-contractors to, most probably, be increased to 15 as in the case of Rostov NPP-2 and the 4th unit of Kalinin NPP. “This is a normal management system. It will allow us to effectively redistribute the work among the sub-contractors, if need be, and to dismiss them if they fail to meet their obligations,” Obozov said.

Reznikov said that LNPP-2 might serve as a good example for other projects, particularly, the construction of Baltic NPP (Kaliningrad NPP), the 3rd and 4th units of Leningrad NPP-2, Kola NPP-2 as well as for projects abroad (to remind, on July 22 Renikov was appointed as President of Atomstroyexport CJSC, which will be merged with SPbAEP).

Reznikov refuted the allegations by local mass media that the construction companies would have personnel problems if the number of contractors was increased. “The management of the sector has decided to increase the number of contractor organizations under LNPP-2 project. This system is more stable. When a project is carried out by several big well-reputed companies there are fewer chances that it may face unexpected problems. Unfortunately, some media are spreading rumors that the recruitment of construction companies from the neighbor region will worsen the employment situation in Sosnovy Bor. I would like to say that this is not true. This year we will need 800 constructors, in 2008 — as many as 2,000 ones. So, none of the contractor companies will lose jobs.”

Note

The construction of LNPP-2 is part of the federal target program for the development of the energy industry of Russia 2007–2015 approved by the Government of the Russian Federation on Oct 5 2006.

On Aug 30 the speaker of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov, the head of Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko and the governor of Leningrad region Valery Serdukov officially launched the LNPP-2 project.

On Sept 12 Rostekhnadzor granted licenses for deployment of the 1st and 2nd units of Leningrad NPP-2.

In 2008 the Government is planning to allocate 6bln RUR for the project. The total cost of the project is almost 70bln RUR.

The project was approved by the public and is presently being considered by the Chief State Inspection.

The project is analogous to the units built by Russian specialists at Tianwan NPP in China – WWER-1000.

The 1st unit is to be launched in 2013.

On June 24 Rostekhnadzor granted Rosenergoatom Concern a license for construction of 1st unit of Leningrad NPP-2.

The general contractor of the project is St.Petersburg Atomenergoproekt. The company was established on Sept 1 1929. Since then the institute has built and launched over 90 power plants (thermal, nuclear, gas turbine power plants) with 439 turbine generators and a total capacity of 29.73mln KW. SPBAEP has designed 27 power plants with a total capacity of 14.976mln KWh in Poland, Vietnam, Cuba, Egypt, North Korea, Algeria, Croatia, Iraq, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland, China, including 9 nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 9.55mln KWh.

Presently, the institute is designing the 4th unit (BN-800 (fast-breeder) reactor) for Beloyarsk NPP, machine compartment of the 1st unit of Bushehr NPP in Iran (WWER-1000 reactor), Leningrad NPP-2 (WWER-1200 reactors – here the institute acts as the general designer and general contractor), South-Western TPP in St.Petersburg. The institutes is also participating in the modernization and extension of the life of units of Kola, Beloyarks, Kursk, Smolensk, Leningrad NPPs and the reconstruction of TPP-15 of Lenenergo, Norilsk TPP and other thermal power plants in Russia.