TEHERAN, Iran - Iran said Sunday it is seeking bids to build two more nuclear Ahmad Fayyazbakhsh, the deputy head of Irans Atomic Energy Organization in charge of power plants, told reporters the plants would be light-water reactors, each with the capacity to generate up to 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Each plant would cost up to US$1.7 billion (Ð1.26 billion) and take up to 11 years to construct, he said.
Iran has also been focusing on developing its own domestic technology, building a 40-megawatt heavy-water reactor in Arak, central Iran. It is also preparing to build a 360-megawatt nuclear power plant in Darkhovin, in southwestern Iran.
Fayyazbakhsh said the two new plants would be built near Bushehr. The bids for the two plants, which will expire in early August, have been published on the nuclear organizations Web site. Iran has already negotiated with several foreign companies that have expressed interest in the new project, Fayyazbakhsh said. He declined to name the companies.
Under Iranian law, the nuclear organization has been tasked with providing 20,000 megawatts of electricity through nuclear power plants during the next 20 years.