Lukashenko: building nuclear power plant shaped Belarus’ future as high-tech country

On November 14th, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko convened a meeting to review the operation of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP), address the increasing energy demand in the republic and consider plans for constructing a second nuclear power plant (a third power unit)

Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded that five years ago, the country entered a new phase.

“Building the nuclear power plant has not only strengthened our energy security but also shaped Belarus’ future as a high-tech country. In a way, having our own nuclear power plant is a means to guarantee sovereignty and independence,” the President stressed.

As the Head of State pointed out, safety and reliability have been prioritised throughout every phase of the plant's construction and operation.

The final political decision to build Belarus’ own nuclear power plant was made in January 2008 during a Security Council meeting chaired by the Head of State. Five years ago, on November 3rd, 2020, the first power unit of the BelNPP was connected to the unified energy grid, and on November 7th, 2020, Aleksandr Lukashenko visited the plant to officially inaugurate its operation. On that day, the President described the BelNPP as ‘a new step into the future, aimed at ensuring the country’s energy security’, as well as ‘an impulse to attract the most advanced technologies to the country’. The second power unit of the BelNPP began commercial operation on November 1st, 2023.

The BelNPP, with two VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2,400MW, was constructed based on the Russian AES-2006 design, which is part of the evolutionary series of third-generation nuclear power plants featuring high-safety water reactors (VVER).