The Russian Foreign Ministry said the prime contractor, Atomstroyexport,
has been raising the capacity of Iran's power reactor at Bushehr. The
ministry said this marked a Russian effort begun in May for the 1,000
megawatt Bushehr to reach full capacity.
"On May 8, the nuclear power plant's first phase was launched with full
control capacity," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander
Lukashevich said.
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Lukashevich said Bushehr began with an operational capacity of 25
percent. In a briefing on June 4, the spokesman said Atomstroyexport
continued to work at Bushehr under supervision of the International Atomic
Energy Agency, Middle East Newsline reported.
"Currently, measures are being taken in line with the schedule to
gradually enhance the plant's capability," Lukashevich said.
Iran has confirmed the Russian effort. The Iranian Atomic Energy
Organization said the Teheran regime would announce a date for the start of
formal operations at Bushehr, a $1 billion project taken over by
Atomstroyexport nearly 20 years ago.
"We will announce the date for launching the Bushehr nuclear power plant
in due time," the agency director-general, Fereidoon Abbassi, said.