Yuri Slepokon, Director of Kursk NPP

— The construction of the 5th unit will bring stability to Kursk

On Jan 24 the State Duma Committee on Energy, Transport and Communication will consider the problem of completion of the 5th of Kursk NPP. Kursk region will be represented by Kursk NPP managers and specialists, deputy governor of the region and experts. Director of KNPP Yuri Slepokon presents the social advantages of the project:

He says that the project is safe, technically practicable and economically expedient. The project will contribute to the economic development of Central Chernozemye and Kursk region and will pave the way for the construction of the 6th unit with a new reactor and a pumped storage plant as new hydro-technical projects will reduce their construction costs by 15%-20%.

In Kurchatov there are a number of organizations who took part in the construction of the existing KNPP units. They have big experience and employ almost 4,000 highly-qualified specialists. The construction of the 5th unit will allow those organizations to return the specialists who have left them in search of job and to attract specialists from other regions. The local population has no prejudice against new nuclear facilities, says Slepokon. Kurchatov residents are rallying not against but in support of the 5th unit. This is one of the situations when the people and the government are unanimous.

The project will help not only to replenish the budget, to carry out social programs and to ensure the further existence of Kurchatov and its 50,000 residents. It will supply electricity to other regions, including Moscow region, and will solve the energy shortfall problem in the Center of the country. Today, people living near the NPP are waiting to see: to buy houses in Kurchatov or not, to send their children to local universities and schools or not. “In other words, the social aspect directly depends on the industrial one. Today, few people believe in the future of the region and the delay of the construction may become a decisive factor for them,” says Slepokon.

The governor of the region actively supports the project. While meeting journalists in Kurchatov before the meeting of the Committee, Alexander Mikhaylov pointed out that the project will boost the economic and social development of the region: the project will involve young specialists, many local organizations will get new jobs, the housing construction will revive, the living standard will grow. Mikhaylov and Slepokon are unanimous that the construction of new units is a real long-term guarantee of employment and social security of the new generation of Kurchatov residents; it means new budgetary allocations and, consequently, new municipal and regional social programs.