A senior member of the parliament said on Monday that Iran's
first home-grown nuclear power plant is scheduled to be operational
in about nine years, local ISNA news agency reported.
The power plant "is scheduled to come online by the (Iranian)
year of 1395 (March 2016 - March 2017)," said Alaeddin Boroujerdi,
head of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy
Commission, in a report issued by Iran's Atomic Energy
Organization.
The conceptual design of the 360-megawatt power plant, which
will be built in Darkhowein in the southwestern Khuzestan province,
started two years ago and was completed last year, Boroujerdi
said.
The detailed design is expected to be completed by the middle of
the Iranian year 1387 (about September 2008), he said, adding that
the technical and equipment design will be finalized by 1390 (March
2011 - March 2012).
The Russian contractor company Atomstroiexport is building Iran
's first atomic power plant in the southern city of Bushehr, but
the 360-megawatt plant in Darkhowein would be Iran's first nuclear
power plant using domestic technology.
Boroujerdi welcomed the potential participation of international
companies on the Darkhowein project, saying that Iran's Atomic
Energy Organization has already issued a tender for construction of
the power plant.
"Participation of European companies is especially welcomed," he
said.
Iran has said it wants to build a network of nuclear power
plants with a capacity of 20,000 megawatts by 2020.
(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2007)
