Dear colleagues and partners!
In 2020, the Engineering Division demonstrated the ability to accomplish current contracting plans and commitments made to customers even under the most demanding of conditions.
The Division’s unprecedented measures to sustain its operations and to ensure safety at work for employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic were instrumental in minimising the impact of the new risks on project performance.
The key outcome of the year 2020 was the commissioning of power units with a VVER-1200 generation III+ reactor at Leningrad NPP-2 and Belarusian NPP. Power unit No. 2 of Leningrad NPP-2 was first connected to the grid in October. This is the fourth power unit with a VVER-1200 reactor to have been put into operation in Russia. In November, power unit No.1 of Belarusian NPP — the first unit we built abroad under this project — was connected to the grid.
The Division continued the consistent implementation of other overseas NPP construction projects. The reactor support truss at power unit No. 2 of Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh was installed in the design position. The owner of the Tianwan NPP construction project in China signed the final acceptance certificates for nuclear islands at power units No. 3 and No. 4 after the two-year warranty period. In Hungary, a complete set of documents to obtain a construction license for two power units of Paks II NPP was submitted to the regulator.
At the Kursk NPP-2 construction site – the first country’s plant built under the cutting-edge domestic VVER-TOI project – all the key milestones were completed in a timely manner, the engineering design of an automated process control system for power units No. 1 and No. 2 was approved.
Our key priorities, as in previous years, comprise the fulfilment of the undertaken contractual obligations, the reduction of lead time and cost of NPP construction, the development of advanced technologies, effective communication with contractors, and safety culture.
This year we put special focus on changing the Division’s organizational structure and management system. The Division continued activities to effect the merger of JSC ASE EC with JSC ASE, as well as the formation of the Joint Design Institute at JSC Atomenergoproekt. These changes will make it possible to consolidate the competence, scientific and technological base and resources of our institutes and survey units and to improve the efficiency of NPP construction projects management and the internal operating performance of the entire Division.
Nuclear power plant construction is a large-scale operation that involves many stakeholders, requires great resources, and has a significant economic impact on entire regions. The Engineering Division aligns its activities with the global Agenda for Sustainable Development and makes a tangible contribution to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include ensuring access to affordable and clean energy, combating climate change, promoting sustainable economic growth and employment, fostering innovation etc.
In the year of the 75th anniversary of the nuclear industry, the Division retained and consolidated its position as a major player on the global market for large NPP construction. We are aware of our responsibility and are ready to exert every effort for the successful implementation of projects in the future.
Alexander Lokshin
Head of the Engineering Division,
President of JSC ASE, the Division’s Holding Company