RUSSIA/GERMANY.

Siemens AG, a world leader in production of electronic equipment, the Bavarian Bayernwerk AG energy company and the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry have announced a program to build a nuclear reactor of the new generation – VVER-640. Operation of such reactors is projected to begin in 2002-2003. The main unit of the first new-generation nuclear power plant will be constructed in the town of Sosnovy Bor, in the Leningrad region, representative of the Nuclear Ministry Alexander Lapshin told a news conference in Moscow on November 3. Siemens will finance 12 percent of the cost of the new plant and sell to Russia a technology for manufacturing the plant’s automatic control system. Specialists from the Bayernwerk joint stock company have inspected the VVER-640 reactor and say that the medium capacity reactor corresponds to international safety norms and should have an extended service life of 50-60 years. The new reactors will be supplied to India, China and the Far East. Russia also will possibly use them at the Kola nuclear power plant and the new nuclear power plant in Khabarovsk territory.