Nuke plants to cost Iran $215m

2006-01-16 20:43

Tehran - Iran has allocated the equivalent of $215m for the construction of what will be its second and third nuclear power plants, said reports on Monday.

The report didn't give the location of the new reactors, but last month Iran said it planned to build new plants in the southern Iranian provinces of Khuzestan and Bushehr.

Iran's first reactor had been built at Bushehr with Russian assistance and was due to come on stream this year.

The head of Iran's management and planning organisation, Farhad Rahbar, said: "About1 940 billion rials have been allocated for the building of two nuclear power plants in the draft budget bill for the next Iranian year."

Nuclear plants

The United States dollar traded at 9 000 rials on the open market and the Iranian New Year began on March 21.

Iran planned to build 20 more nuclear plants and Russia had offered to build some of them.

Iran was under increasing international pressure about its nuclear programme as it insisted on controlling the whole fuel cycle - from mining uranium to enriching it to the point where it could be used in reactors.

The West objects to Iran's enriching uranium as the process could be used to produce material for nuclear bombs.

The US accused Iran of trying secretly to build nuclear weapons - a charge Iran has denied.

Britain, France and Germany, with US backing, have been trying to persuade Iran to import nuclear fuel, but Iran has rejected this.

- AP