VISAGINAS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVES NEXT DEVELOPMENT MILESTONE
Updated 2012-03-30
Republic of Lithuania and Hitachi, Ltd. announce their agreement of the Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant Concession Agreement, paving the way for the next phase of project development. Following the successful conclusion of negotiations, the Concession Agreement relating to the Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant has been initialled at the Prime Minister’s Office today by Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, Head of Concession Tender Commission and Vice-Minister of Energy on behalf of the Ministry of Energy, and Masaharu Hanyu, Vice-President of Hitachi Ltd. on behalf of the Strategic Investor.
The Concession Agreement provides the contractual framework for the Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant including the provision of: rights for the project company to design, construct and operate and in time decommission the plant; host country and investor rights and obligations; formalising and concluding the procurement for Hitachi investment and Hitachi-GE technology; and an agreed timeline for delivery. It enables the project to continue with further design, licensing and site preparation activities in the pre-construction phase including the commercial investment by the Strategic Investor and the other investors.Over the coming weeks the Concession Agreement will be reviewed and discussed by the Government, before being submitted to the Seimas (Parliament) for formal vote and approval in this Spring Session.
"We welcome this important milestone in the project and wish to emphasise our appreciation of the cooperative and supportive spirit in which the project has proceeded to date. The conclusion of further project documentation prior to the formal award of the concession is, of course, the next essential step and we look forward to working closely with VAE and the regional partners, whose support is vital for the project, so as to advance to the stage of project implementation." – said Masaharu Hanyu, Vice-President of Hitachi Ltd.
Speaking of the agreement Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said:
“We are pleased to announce today the agreement of the Concession Agreement, which represents a significant milestone in the development of this important regional project. The Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant presents Lithuania and the Baltic region with a once in a lifetime opportunity to diversify energy sources and enhance energy security and independence as well as continue our integration into Europe. The agreement with Hitachi is also a vote of confidence for what will be the largest foreign direct investment in the history of Lithuania. We are proud to have reached this milestone and to have probably the most developed new nuclear project in Europe.”
The Prime Ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia expressed their support to the project during their recent meeting at the Baltic Ministers Council on March 7-8, 2012.
Concession agreement negotiations have continued since the selection in July 2011 of Hitachi Ltd. on behalf of the Strategic Investor on the basis of providing the most economically advantageous proposal, including investment in the project company and provision to the project of the Hitachi-GE Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR), the only generation III nuclear reactor with a proven operational track record around the world, with an enhanced level of safety.
The project development has significantly advanced since then with impressive progress in: technical activities jointly performed by Hitachi-GE and VAE; establishment of a favourable and solid platform for further project development through discussions with the independent national regulator VATESI; implementation of legal reforms by the Lithuanian Government and Parliament; engagement of Exelon Nuclear Partners, whose parent company operates the largest nuclear fleet in the United States; notification of the project to the European Commission under the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) Treaty (Article 41); negotiations of the project agreements with the regional investors (Latvenergo and Eesti Energia) and the anticipated project company contractors. The negotiations will continue alongside further project development.
The Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant is one of the most advanced nuclear power generation projects in Europe.
Notes to editors:
Development for Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant to-date: www.vae.lt
