Lukashenko mulls nuclear growth as Belarus heads to polls
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko plans to discuss the construction of a second nuclear power plant in the country with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the BelTA propaganda agency reported on Jan. 21.
Although there is currently a surplus of electricity, there may be a need for more in the future.
The location for the plant has not been decided, but possible sites include "expanding the one in Ostrovka, or we have another internationally recognized site south of Mogilev where we can build this station," he said.
Belarus already has one nuclear power plant, the Belarusian NPP, which was officially launched in November 2020 in the town of Astravets in the northwestern Grodno Oblast, despite strong objections from Lithuania.
Built by Russia's state-owned Rosatom and financed by a $10 billion loan from Moscow, the two-unit plant with a capacity of up to 2.4 GW is located just 50 kilometers from the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. Lithuania and Latvia opposed the project, citing safety and national security concerns.
Earlier in the day, the Belarusian Central Election Commission announced the start of early voting for the presidential election scheduled for Jan. 26.
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