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Rosatom Will Save Bushehr from Iran
Atomstroiexport representatives returned from Tehran yesterday after reaching an agreement with Iran on urgent measures to keep the opening of the Bushehr atomic energy plant on schedule. Federal Agency for Atomic Energy (Rosatom) head Sergey Kirienko led the Russian delegation to Tehran on Monday. Some negotiators remain in Iran for continuing talks. Negotiations revealed that the real problem at Bushehr is not political, but financial and managerial. According to the Russians, Financing for the construction of the plant was cut by more than half in the spring of this year.
Construction of the atomic plant, which is being led by Russian specialists, has never gone smoothly. Nonetheless Kirienko and Gholam Reza Aghazadeh reached an agreement in September to ensure that the Bushehr reactor is fired up and put into commercial service on time, in September and November 2007, respectively. After that, the Russian contractor, Atomstroiexport, sent an addition 500 builders to Iran to join the 2500 already working there. Then Iran reduced financing for the construction without warning from $66 million to $29 million for October and November of this year.
Under its contract, Atomstroiexport is to receive the last $200 million for the construction of the Bushehr plant only after work is completed. The total value of the deal is $1.1-1.3 billion – the contract was concluded in 1995 without a formula for price escalation. That sum is barely half of the current cost of services for the construction of an atomic generating plant today. Nor does the contract include financing for the guaranteed two-year servicing of the plant by Atomstroiexport after its reached full capacity.
Atomstroiexport president Sergey Shmatko was forced to delay his earlier-scheduled return to Moscow until yesterday, but he succeeded in received a guarantee from Aghazadeh of monthly financing of $20-25 million for the plant's construction. A source in the Russian delegation told Kommersant that it would be completely impossible to meet deadline obligations without that funding. Another source in the delegation said that Russia is also concerned by the frequent and disruptive personnel changes in the Iranian companies contracted to take part in the construction.
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All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 14, 2006
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