Full Steam Ahead: Rosatom Ready to Start on Iran's New Nuclear Reactors

Engineers from Rosatom and their Iranian colleagues are planning to start the construction of a further two nuclear reactors at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant by the end of the year, a source told RIA Novosti.

The Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) is planning to begin construction work on second and third nuclear reactor units at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant before the end of this year, RIA Novosti reported.

"We are waiting for the Iranians to complete a seismic survey of the site, after which we plan to begin construction before the end of the year," a source at Rosatom told the agency.

Last month head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi said that work on the two reactors at Bushehr had been delayed for technical reasons, and disagreements in some areas.

"We will begin work as soon as we reach a consensus. We expect construction to begin this year," Salehi said.

In 1995 Russia and Iran agreed a deal to complete the construction of the first unit at the Bushehr power plant, which had been started but left unfinished by German company Siemens, who left the project following the 1979 Iranian revolution and diplomatic pressure from the US.

Work on the unique project, which installed Russian nuclear technology into the German-built reactor buildings, was completed in 2011, when the plant began operating at low levels, and in March 2012 the reactor reached full capacity, providing Iran's national grid with 1,000 megawatts of power.

In November 2014 Russia and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the construction of up to eight more reactors in Iran using Russian technology, two of which are planned to be built at Bushehr.