Russia to Ship Equipment to Finish Iran’s N. Plant

TEHRAN (FNA)- Russia will soon ship around 1,000 tons of equipment necessary to complete the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a top Iranian nuclear official said on Friday.

“There is an agreement that within four months the Russian side will ship around 1,000 tons of equipment needed for the Bushehr nuclear power plant,” Ahmad Fayazbakhsh, the deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, told the Islamic republic news agency.

Russia is building the $1 billion Bushehr facility in the south of Iran under a 1995 contract. The project is subject to UN monitoring.

Russia’s nuclear power chief Sergei Kiriyenko said in early June that preparations for the launch of the Bushehr project, including nuclear fuel operations, would start in the fall.

He said with confidence that the safety of nuclear fuel storage was not in doubt.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on October 7 that the Bushehr nuclear power plant would be commissioned in the first half of 2009.