Iran to take full control of Bushehr nuclear plant by year end: Official

Iran will take over the full control of its first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr by the end of the year, an official of the main Russian contractor of the plant says.

“We believe that the unit will be transferred to the client (Iran) in the last week of December,” Igor Mezenin, the Atomstroyexport’s construction chief, told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

Mezenin added that the Russian contractor needs to complete a series of trials before handing over the full control of the unit to Iran.

A senior official at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said last week that the plant had reached its nominal capacity for the first time on August 30, producing 1,000 megawatts of electricity at full capacity.

Mohammad Ahmadian added that the first unit of the Bushehr power plant generated 1,002 megawatts of electricity and was connected to the country’s national power grid on August 31.

The initial construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant began in 1975 by German companies, but the work was halted following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In 1995, Iran and Russia reached an agreement to complete the project, but power generation was delayed several times due to a number of technical and financial problems. Iran officially launched the Bushehr nuclear power plant on September 12, 2011.

The plant had been connected to the national power grid on September 3, supplying 60 megawatts of its 1,000-megawatt capacity.

The facility is operating under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).