Vladimir Rojanovski, manager of MidCap Sickle and Hammer Fund

– Construction of Baltic NPP will restore the energy balance in the region

After the shut-down of Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant the Baltic region will run short of energy. The construction of Baltic Nuclear Power Plant will restore the energy balance in the region. I think that this is the key factor as energy shortages in such an important seaside region may result in reduction of the cargo turnover with Western Europe – something we must not allow.

Public hearings on the preliminary assessment of the environmental impact of the construction and operation of the 1st and 2nd units of Baltic Nuclear Power Plant took place in Neman, Kaliningrad region July 24 2009. The keynote speaker was the chief engineer of the Baltic NPP project of St.Petersburg Atomenergoproekt Ivan Grabelnikov.

Representatives of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation, Energoatom Concern OJSC, St.Petersburg Atomenergoproekt, the executive and legislative authorities of Kaliningrad region, public organizations and mass media as well as residents of Neman district and neighboring Chernyakhovsk and Krasnoznamensk districts and Sovetsky municipal district took part in the hearings.

To remind, Apr 16 2008 the Government of Kaliningrad region and Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation signed an agreement for the construction of Baltic Nuclear Power Plant in the territory of the region.

Baltic NPP will have two 1,170MW reactors. The estimated cost of the project is 194bln RUR in the prices of the first quarter of 2009.

The plant is supposed to employ 1,100 people. At the peak of construction the project will involve 8,000 people. Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation is planning to recruit as many local specialists as possible. The railway in Neman district will be restored to ensure access to the construction site. Construction materials will be produced in the territorial of the region. The plant is expected to become the biggest tax-payer in the region.