MOSCOW--Russia's atomic energy agency and aluminum giant OAO United Company Rusal announced plans Monday to build a nuclear power plant and an aluminum smelter in the country's Far East.
Rusal and Rosatom will conduct a feasibility study by the end of the year and then set a timetable for construction of the plant and smelter, foreseen under a joint agreement on long-term investment projects, they said in a statement.
The project would help meet a target set by Russian President Vladimir Putin of raising the proportion of nuclear generated power to at least 25% by 2030, as well as helping meet the enormous electricity needs of Rusal - the world's biggest producer of aluminum.
The statement said that the project will be configured as a so-called public-private partnership, enabling the Rusal and Rosatom to seek government funds specially earmarked for infrastructure development.
"The program will provide a platform for an economic upturn across large areas of the country," Rosatom head Sergei Kiriyenko said in the statement. It didn't say where the plants would be located; the Far East is a large area encompassing much of Russia's eastern coastline and nearby inland regions.
Russia has 31 reactors at 10 nuclear power plants, accounting for 16%-17% of the country's electricity generation.
Rusal, its rival Sual and Swiss-based commodities trader Glencore International AG completed the combination of their assets at the end of March, creating United Company Rusal and surpassing U.S.-based Alcoa Inc. (AA) as the world's largest aluminum producer.
UC Rusal has annual pro forma sales of approximately $12 billion and a production capacity of nearly 4 million metric tons of aluminum a year, or about 12% of global output.
The company operates in 17 countries across five continents.
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