Salehi Says Iran to Build New Nuclear Plant in Bushehr

Iran nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, said the Islamic Republic is to built another nuclear site at Bushehr, with construction set to begin in 2014.

“With the progress made in the Geneva talks, next year we will see the start of construction on another nuclear power plant in Bushehr,” said Salehi, referring to the landmark deal sealed between Iran and world power in the Swiss capital last week.

He said that Iran and Russia were in talks to build the site.
“We are negotiating with the Russians to produce 4,000 megawatts of electricity, and they have expressed their readiness to build,” added Salehi, according to the website of state broadcaster IRIB.

He said that in the next phase, Iran sought to produce 5,000 megawatts in electricity output from nuclear power.

Iran’s sole Bushehr nuclear power plant, which produces 1,000 megawatts, came into service in 2011 after several delays blamed on technical problems.
In September this year, Iranian engineers took complete control of the Bushehr facility.

Iran has said it aims to produce 20,000 megawatts of electricity from nuclear power, which would necessitate building 20 such reactors.
Under the interim Geneva agreement, Iran agreed to roll back some parts of its nuclear program in exchange for partial easing of punitive sanctions.