OREANDA-NEWS. Russian state-owned shipyard Sevmashpredpriyatiye, or Sevmash, began construction of the world's first floating nuclear power plant on April 15. The official ceremony in the Arkhangelsk Region city of Severodvinsk was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency, and Yevgeny Velikhov, president of the Kurchatov Institute, secretary of the Public Chamber and academic.

The first floating nuclear plant will be completed in 2010 and its construction will cost U.S. $300 million, Kiriyenko said.

The life span of the nuclear power plant, called Academic Lomonosov, is estimated at 40 years.

Sevmash and the state-owned nuclear power monopoly Rosenergoatom signed April 15 a declaration of intent to build six floating nuclear plants in the period from 2008 till 2010. The time needed for construction of the plants will be reduced from four to three years starting 2008, under the declaration.

Rosenergoatom is currently in talks with the government of the Chukotka Autonomous District, the Defense Ministry, natural gas giant Gazprom and governments of unnamed countries in Asia and Africa over supplies of the floating nuclear power plants, a spokesman for Rosenergoatom said.

Ivanov confirmed Russia's intention to sell its floating nuclear power plants abroad.

Also, on April 14, Sevmash completed the construction of the first nuclear missile submarine of the latest, fourth generation. Two more submarines of this series are currently being built at Sevmash. The submarines of this series were designed at the state Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering Rubin based in St. Petersburg.

Sevmash is expected to build eight submarines of the latest generation before 2015, said Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Moskovsky.