Russian industrial safety watchdog Rostekhnadzor has issued permits for Rosenergoatom, the nuclear power division of state corporation Rosatom, to build reactors for the No. 7 and No. 8 generating units at the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant (LNPP) in Leningrad Region, the plant reported.

Securing the permits "is an important step in the construction of the nuclear plant," as they are "key documents that kick off the main stage of construction and installation work at the generating units being built" and are required by Russian law, the press release said.

"We are completely ready to begin large-scale work on the new phase of the Leningrad NPP," LNPP director Vladimir Pereguda was quoted as saying.

The term of the permits is 15 years. Over the next few years the company plans to build about 150 buildings and installations at the site of the future generating units, outfit them with equipment, lay all the necessary utility lines and carry out pre-commissioning work so as to load fresh nuclear fuel into the reactors of units No. 7 and No. 8 in 2029 and 2031 and begin reactor start-up, the plant said. For this stage the plant will need to secure two more permits, to operate the reactors.

Construction of the new generating units with VVER-1200 reactors at LNPP in the industrial zone of Sosnovy Bor began in August 2022.