A delegation of media representatives and experts in the sphere of nuclear energy from Armenia visited the Kola NPP to study the experience of NPP modernizing and life extension. The press tour was attended by journalists from the “Golos Armenii” newspaper, “Sputnik Armenia” and “Novosti-Armenia” news agencies, specialists from the Noravank Scientific and Educational Foundation and the ARMATOM Scientific Research Institute CJSC.

At the Armenian NPP, large-scale work is undertaken to modernize the second power unit, aimed at extending its service life until 2026, and in the long term until 2036. The project is performed by the subsidiaries of Rosenergoatom - Atomenergoremont and Concern Titan-2 (under the leadership of Rusatom Service). The experience of the Russian polar nuclear power plant in this direction is of serious interest to the Armenian nuclear scientists and the public - at the Kola NPP a huge amount of work has been carried out to improve safety.

Cooperation between the two nuclear power plants is due not only to one type of operated reactors - PWR-440. Initially, the construction of the Armenian NPP was integrally linked with the Kola NPP, where a special unit - a test and start-up workshop was created to train personnel for a nuclear power plant under construction in Armenia.

 “From the very beginning, we have built very warm, friendly and professional relations with the management of the Armenian plant under construction,” recalls Vasily Omelchuk, the director of the Kola NPP. - The specialists of the Kola NPP took an active part in the start-up of the units of the Armenian NPP. This cooperation continues to this day. We are ready to cooperate, to solve our common tasks, including the life extension and modernization of power units”.

In his response, the leading analyst, deputy director for science of the Noravank scientific and educational foundation, national expert on energy of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), candidate of technical sciences Ara Mardzhanyan thanked the specialists of the Kola NPP for an extremely informative visit and expressed the opinion that nuclear energy is the bridge that binds the friendship between Armenia and Russia: "Assistance and cooperation with Rosatom gives strategic depth to the energy sector in Armenia."