The Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) has issued a permit for the loading of fresh fuel into unit one of the nuclear power plant under construction near Ostrovets in the Grodno region. It consists of two VVER-1200 reactors that are scheduled for commissioning this year and next.

ASE, the engineering arm of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, is the general designer and main contractor of the project to build what will be Belarus's first nuclear power plant.

Announcing the issuance of the permit, ASE said today that an inspection by Gosatomnadzor had confirmed the readiness of the unit's systems, equipment, documentation and personnel for its physical start-up. In the coming days, the first of 163 fuel assemblies will be loaded into the reactor.

An intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Belarus specifically on cooperation in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus was signed in March 2011.