Rosatom has offered the Armenian government to construct a new power plant with a capacity of at least 1 GW, which will be based on VVER-1000 reactor technology, this Russian state corporation's director general Alexey Likhachev told reporters in Armenia.

According to him, during the respective talks with the Armenian side, it was noted that nuclear power in Armenia will continue to develop. Moreover, in the coming months, Armenia should decide on the technical solutions for its new nuclear plant and the partners participating in its construction.

"Nuclear power in Armenia will continue to exist for decades," Likhachev said.

He informed that a clear proposal for the construction of a new power unit with a capacity of about 1 GW and VVER-1000 technology has already been submitted to the Armenian government. Likhachev noted that Rosatom is currently building such reactors in several other countries such as India and Iran.

According to the head of Rosatom, their proposal combines economic efficiency and “3+” generation safety systems. At the same time, he said that the claim about the competitiveness of this project is purely Rosatom’s opinion and does not mean that Armenia has already made a final decision.

“Today we have officially transferred to the Armenian side all the materials necessary to start the preliminary phase of discussions,” Likhachev said.

He added that the choice of technologies, partner, and project format is exclusively the prerogative of the Armenian government.

According to him, Rosatom is also not against considering the future project as international, which implies the involvement of suppliers from various countries.

“We [i.e. Rosatom] are ready to see this as an international integrated project with the participation of global suppliers,” Likhachev added.

However, the names of specific companies or the details of their possible participation are not being discussed publicly yet. As per Likhachev, this will depend on the requirements and wishes of the Armenian customer and the specialists conducting technical talks.

Also, Likhachev noted that in Rosatom’s assessments, in the longer term, Armenia may also discuss the constructing of a second new power unit. But the final decision in this case will also be made by the Armenian government.