November 21, 2017, 00:51 / Business

Rosatom will increase its investment program fivefold

In terms of investment costs, the state corporation is able to catch up with the leaders - Gazprom and Rosneft Ivan Peschinsky

Rosatom will spend a trillion rubles / Maxim Stulov / Vedomosti

Rosatom's investment program will increase 5 times by 2023, said Gennady Sakharov, director for capital investments, state construction supervision and state examination of the state corporation. According to Interfax, in 2017 the state corporation's investments will amount to 280 billion rubles. Thus, in 2023, Rosatom may spend 1.4 trillion rubles for these purposes.

Currently, Gazprom and Rosneft have the largest investment programs. In 2017, Gazprom’s figure is 1.13 trillion rubles, Rosneft is targeting a figure of 1.1 trillion rubles.

“We have to launch up to 30 blocks at the same time,” Sakharov explained. A Rosatom representative did not respond to Vedomosti’s request.

Rosatom's order portfolio includes 42 power units, of which 34 are abroad. According to the industry center for capital construction Rosatom, foreign orders are valued at almost $150 billion. But only a few of them are in the active stage of implementation. In particular, the Akkuyu NPP in Turkey, the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh are scheduled to be commissioned in 2023, and the Hanhikivi NPP in Finland should start operating in a year.

The sources of financing for Rosatom’s investment program are its own funds, loans, government subsidies, as Natalya Porokhova, head of ACRA’s research and forecasting group, lists: the company receives about 60 billion rubles from the state budget, of which 15–20 billion rubles are spent on the construction of nuclear power plants. On foreign projects, Russia often provides a loan to the foreign party, which is used to pay for construction.

In Russia, Rosatom's investments in new power units are repaid through the mechanism of power supply agreements, which guarantee a return on investment through payments from industrial consumers. Previously, consumers suggested that the Ministry of Energy consider the possibility of moving some Rosatom construction projects in order to reduce the load on the energy market. In a letter to the Ministry of Energy, First Deputy General Director of Rosatom Alexander Lokshin noted that the company is ready to discuss rescheduling (Vedomosti has read his text).

Rosatom's revenue in 2016 increased by 5.3% to 864.6 billion rubles. One of Rosatom’s strategic goals is to increase its share in international markets, according to its materials. Now foreign business brings 47% of Rosatom's revenue. The company plans to increase this figure to more than 2/3 by 2030. In addition to the construction of nuclear power plants, Rosatom provides comprehensive maintenance services. In 2016, such contracts were concluded at 32 foreign power units of Russian design.

The construction of nuclear power plants and nuclear power engineering in the next 10 years will probably become the fastest growing item of Russian export, Porokhova notes: here Russia is really quite competitive. According to the IAEA, there are currently 392 GW of nuclear power capacity operating in the world. By 2030, capacity could increase 1.5 times to 598 GW.

At the same time, Rosatom can produce a significant part of the equipment for new nuclear power plants itself. The power engineering division of Rosatom occupies 27% of the Russian energy market. At the end of 2016, its order portfolio reached 420.3 billion rubles. Current capacities allow the construction of 1–1.5 GW of capacity per year, says Porokhova. Rosatom's statement means that 30 power units will be under construction in 2023, but this does not mean that active work will be carried out at all sites, she explains: in recent years, on average, about 10 GW of construction was carried out simultaneously .