During a speech at the physics faculty of Tehran University on Saturday afternoon, Abbasi said that Iran is to build two new nuclear power plants, adding that the country will begin construction of one of them, a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant, in Bushehr next year (starting March 21, 2013).
The senior Iranian nuclear official said his country does not have experience in building nuclear plants and foreign assistance will therefore help the Islamic Republic achieve such an objective.
Meanwhile, Abbasi highlighted that virtual (non-nuclear) fuel for the 40-megawatt heavy water nuclear reactor in Arak will be shipped to the central Iranian city next week. He said that nuclear fuel will be loaded into Arak nuclear reactor next year.
The AEOI director further said Iran has the expertise to build 10- and 20-megawatt (MW) pool-type nuclear research reactors, stressing that Iran is self-sufficient in the nuclear fuel cycle.
The Bushehr power plant was officially launched by Iranian officials in September 2011, and began operations by generating electricity at 40 percent of its capacity.
The 1,000-megawatt plant had already been connected to the country's national power grid with the power of 60 MW on September 3, 2011. It reached the capacity of 190 MW on September 27, 2011, and one day later it raised the capacity to 300 MW.
The initial construction of the facility began in 1975 by German companies, but the work was halted following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
In 1995, Iran and Russia reached an agreement to complete the project, but power generation was delayed several times due to a number of technical and financial problems.
Bushehr plant, Iran's first nuclear power plant, operates under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
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