OREANDA-NEWS. February 17, 2011. The groundwork on the Belarusian nuclear power plant project will begin in August-September 2011, First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko said at a session of the Energy Efficiency Department of the State Committee for Standardization.

“We will start the work on the construction of the nuclear power plant this year,” said Vladimir Semashko. “The preparatory period is almost over. We have signed a document under which the groundwork on the NPP construction will begin in late August - early September,” he said. Vladimir Semashko noted that the first unit will be commissioned in 2016, the second one in 2018.

The First Vice Premier also stressed great significance of hydro power for Belarus. By 2020 the country plans to construct 13 hydropower plants on the Western Dvina, Neman and Dnieper. As regards small-scale power engineering, the relative program envisages construction of 161 energy-generating facilities running on local fuels, including 32 mini-CHP plants, and boilers.