Currently, more than 3000 people are working on the project, with that number having swelled by 1000 over the last month. The Volgodonsk NPP operation is managing the construction.
The present activities include preparation for the washing-out of the water coolant lines as well as hydrostatic testing to confirm their integrity.
The Volgodonsk plant is also known as Rostov. The four 1000 MW VVER pressurized water reactors were planned in early 1980s and some construction took place before work was hallted.
Valery Limarenko of main contractor Nizhniy Novgorod Atomenergo proekt said, We are entering the final straight… The second unit of Rostov is the starting point of the large scale construction of new nuclear reactors in our country.
The other five construction projects are ongoing in Russia, another V-320 unit at Kalinin 4, a BN-800 fast reactor at Beloyarsk 4, two KLT-40S marine units at a shipyard in Vilyuchinsk and new-wave VVER-1200 units at Novovoronezh Phase II unit 1 and Leningrad Phase II unit 1. Later this year work should start on VVER-1200s at Novovoronezh Phase II unit 2 and Volgodonsk 3.
