Azernews.Az

The Armenian government decided Thursday on early termination of the contract with Russia's Inter RAO UES of the entrusted administration of 100 per cent of the state JSC "Armenian NPP". The draft decision was presented by Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsiyan, ArmInfo reported.

The contract with Russian company for 5 years was signed in November 2003 and then extended until September 2013. According to the document Inter RAO committed itself to ensure smooth and safe operation of the NPP, as well as supply of fresh nuclear fuel for the refueling station. Earlier, the Minister reported that since January 1, 2012 Inter RAO actually no longer manages the financial flows of the ANPP.

According to the Russian mass media outlets Inter RAO has decided to terminate the agreement on financial management of the Armenian NPP, because it was dissatisfied with the terms of management, and because nuclear power is for the holding company "non-core activity with dramatically increased risks".

Armenia plans to build more powerful nuclear power plant than a plant in Metsamor. The project is expected to cost $ 1 billion. Operation life of Metsamor NPP expired in 2010, but Armenia and the IAEA experts have agreed to continue the operation of the plant until 2016.

Nuclear Power Plant is located in a seismically active zone, about 30 miles west of the Armenian capital of Yerevan, which has a population of over one million people.

According to environmentalists and scientists from all over the region, seismic activity of the area makes operation of the nuclear power plant in Metsamor in an extremely risky venture, even if new type of reactor is constructed.