The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is absolutely not going to take steps to have the Armenian NPP shut down, the agency's Director General Rafael Grossi said.

In an interview with Armenpress, he referred to the Turkish side's recent letter to the IAEA asking it to take steps to shut down the Armenian NPP.

‘If there is an issue with the plant we will address it immediately with the government, and we would be the first to say that there is a problem and that some action would need to be taken. But at the moment, as I say, we are confident that operations can continue,” Grossi said.

“The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant is following the safety recommendations and guidance from the IAEA. This is very important. There have been important refurbishments done at the facility which were found to be indispensable, so we can continue operating, there will be an extension of the licensing of the plant for a few more years and we are satisfied with the way in which they have been implemented,” Grossi told Armenpress at COP28 in UAE."

The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, the only one in the South Caucasus region, is located near the town of Metsamor, about 30 kilometers west of Yerevan. It accounts for about 40% of the total electricty generation of the country.

Armenian government wants to o build a new nuclear power plant with a capacity of about 1000-1200 MW. Several options are being considered – either to build a power unit with a capacity of about 1000 or 1200 MW, or two power units with 1000 MW capacity each.

The new nuclear power plant will be tentatively built on the territory adjacent to the existing NPP (about 80 hectares), and will use some of its infrastructure.