The Visaginas nuclear power facility should launch operations in 2020 to 2022, the minister told reporters after presenting a draft concession agreement to the Cabinet.
"The Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant concession agreement was presented to the government during today's meeting. The negotiations are planned to be completed this week. After the concession agreement is finalized and initialed, it will be submitted to the government, and then to the Seimas (parliament) for approval. Then the concession agreement would be signed," he said.
Following the signing of the concession agreement, the designing would continue in two stages, the minister said.
"Funding in the first stage will amount to 83 million euros, and in the second stage, 200 million euros. The first stage will last for about 12 months, while the second stage will go on for another 18 months. Then there should be a final investment decision," he said, adding that 31 March 2015 was be a deadline for making the decision.
"Construction of the nuclear power plant will then take place. The start of its operations should be between 2020 and 2022. This means that the project is being carried out in stages and each stage gives more precise answers as to the project's cost. The cost of the project continues to be adjusted. We seek that the biggest possible part of the project should have fixed costs. The total cost should not exceed 5 billion euros, and the door is being left open for more investors to join, apart from the regional partners," Sekmokas said.
The minister said that the period of 2020 to 2022 has been chosen as the target start date in order to give more time in case more questions turn up.
It was said earlier that the new facility could begin operations in 2020.
"We are a leaving a flexible timeline in case more questions about the price emerge," he said.
Based on latest estimates, the electricity production cost at the new plant should be 0.07-0.10 litas per kilowatt-hour.
"It covers nuclear fuel costs, the plant's maintenance, operation, salaries, payments to the decommissioning fund, and closure and disposal. All this is included in the 7-10 cent power production cost (estimate)," Sekmokas said.
The new plant's capital costs, or loan costs, would make up between 0.10 and 0.15 litas, he said.
Sekmokas has said that Lithuania will hold at least 34 percent of shares in the new nuclear power facility. Regional partners' stakes in the project will depend on the results of negotiations on a shareholders' agreement, he said.
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said last week that negotiations with regional partners - Latvia's Latvenergo and Estonia's Eesti Energia - on their investment in the new facility could not be continued until the concession agreement with Hitachi was signed. He said that the plant would only be built if the price of electricity produced at it would be economically beneficial.
The Visaginas plant's strategic investor is Hitachi Ltd together with Hitachi-GE Nuclear Services, in which Hitachi holds an 80 percent stake.
