AEOI chief announces construction of nuclear power plant in Khuzestan

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has announced the start of construction operation for a nuclear plant in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, praising the country’s remarkable progress in development of nuclear power plants.

Mohammad Eslami inaugurated the construction operation of “Karun” nuclear power plant in Darkhovein District in the Shadegan County of southwestern province of Khuzestan on Saturday, saying, "The government is moving towards the production of low-cost energy and fuel; therefore the development of nuclear power plants is on the agenda of this organization."

According to reports, the power plant is of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) type and with the capacity of producing 300 megawatts of electricity is to be built on a land of approximately 50 hectares in the vicinity of the Karun River.

During the inauguration ceremony, Eslami said the high-speed movement towards the development of nuclear power plants has begun across the country, adding that, “The start of the construction operation of the Karun nuclear power plant has taken place in this regard to scale up the share of nuclear energy in the country's electricity basket to about 20 percent,” which is considered a “big step in the 20-year horizon” of the AEOI.

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Stressing that the 300-megawatt power plant is important for the southwest of the country, especially the Khuzestan Province, Iran’s nuclear chief said, “We hope to build the power plant as a first step of building small power plants in order to create a new chapter in the country's industrial and technological capacity, and also to expand this technology at a general level as well.”

Eslami said the construction of Karun power plant is in line with the AEOI's mission to produce nuclear electricity through building indigenous nuclear power plants, adding that the approximate time for the completion of the project is eight years, which is carried out by using the maximum domestic capabilities in the fields of design, equipment supply and construction of nuclear power plants.

The financial estimate of the implementation of the project, as Eslami said, is about two billion dollars, and one of the benefits of the project is the supply of electricity to the region and the southwestern province.

In recent years, Iranian scientists have made remarkable progress in the field of peaceful nuclear technology despite the tough sanctions imposed by the West.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said in February that enemies are seeking to deprive Iranians of peaceful nuclear energy, stressing once again that the Islamic Republic has never sought nuclear weapons.

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