First concrete has been poured ahead of schedule for unit 8 of Russia’s Leningrad NPP (also known as Leningrad-II unit 4). Currently Leningrad NPP has four units in operation – units 3&4 with Soviet RBMK-1000 reactors, as well units 5&6 with new VVER-1200 units (also known as Leningrad-II 1&2). Units 5&6 replaced units 1&2 with RBMK-1000 reactors, which were decommissioned in 2018 and 2020. New VVER-1200 units (7&8) will replace units 3&4. First concrete for unit 7 also took place ahead of schedule.
Concreting the foundation plate of the reactor building is one of the most important stages of its construction. The strength and durability of the building, the integrity of its building structures, the reliable operation of systems and equipment, including the reactor, depend on the quality of the concrete mixture and the quality of the work.
Concreting the foundation of the reactor building will be carried out round the clock. To concrete a 2,100 square-metre plate will require almost 5,500 cubic metres of concrete mix. After the foundation is ready, the construction of the internal and external containment of the reactor building, the construction of ceilings and the installation of equipment will begin. The melt trap will be the first major component to be installed. This operation is scheduled for 2026.
Representatives of the Belarusian NPP, Egypt’s El Dabaa NPP and Bangladesh’s Rooppur NPP attended the ceremony by video link. NPPs with similar VVER-1200 reactors are being built in those countries by Rosatom.
“Today we have not just started construction of a new power unit at the Leningrad-II NPP. We have taken another step towards fulfilling the state task of increasing the nuclear share in the country’s energy balance,” said Andrey Petrov, First Deputy General Director for Nuclear Energy at Rosatom’s Engineering Division. “In this regard, Rosatom faces the most ambitious challenges. Already this year, work is beginning on the construction of replacement capacities at the Smolensk and Kola NPP, engineering surveys for the Generation IV [fast reactor] unit at the Beloyarsk NPP in the Sverdlovsk Region are being completed. In the next two decades, new sites are being prepared in Siberia, in the Urals, and the Far East.”
