Russian Ministry of Construction and Kursk Oblast Inspect VVER-TOI Unit Under Construction

Recently, Irek·Faizullin, Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation, and Alexander·Khinshtein, Governor of Kursk Oblast, jointly inspected the key construction site of Kursk II NPP in Kurchatov.

It is reported that, accompanied by Andrey·Osharin, Acting Director of Kursk NPP, the delegation focused on Unit 2 under construction, which is undergoing system commissioning. At present, the reactor building of the unit is intensively carrying out preparations for safety system tests, i.e., advancing toward the stage of primary circuit hydrostatic testing and circulating flushing.

As Russia's first replacement nuclear power site deploying Generation 3+ VVER-TOI (Water-Water Energetic Reactor - Optimized and Informationalized) reactors, Kursk II NPP is planned to build 4 innovative reactor units with a capacity of 1,300 MW-class each (total installed capacity of 5,000 MW), to fully replace the aging RBMK-1000 units nearing retirement. The first VVER-TOI unit has been operating smoothly since its successful grid connection in December 2025, with cumulative power generation exceeding 6 billion kWh; Unit 2 is scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2028.

According to the General Layout Scheme for Electric Power Facilities Through 2042 approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, all 4 units of Kursk II NPP will be fully completed by 2034. The Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation and the Kursk Oblast Government emphasized that the project is not only a flagship endeavor to ensure power security in the Central Black Earth Region, but will also inject strong momentum into local infrastructure upgrading and the coordinated development of nuclear industry cities.