TEHRAN, Dec 4 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran began yesterday, the construction of a new nuclear power plant, in its south-western province of Khuzestan, Nour news agency reported.
Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, and some local officials witnessed the start of construction of the 300-megawatt Karoon nuclear power plant, which will install a pressurised light water reactor that uses 4-percent enriched uranium oxide as fuel.
Iran started building nuclear power plants at “a high speed,” Eslami said, adding, the Karoon plant will help Iran reach the goal of increasing the share of nuclear energy to about 20 percent of the overall electricity basket.
Iran plans to spend 1.5 to two billion U.S. dollars and eight years, to build the Karoon plant, according to Nour news agency.
The 1,000-megawatt Bushehr nuclear power plant, which is the first civilian nuclear power plant in Iran, began supplying electricity in Sept, 2011 with the cooperation of Russia.–