Russia: Bushehr plant operational this year

Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russia's state-run nuclear corporation, Rosatom, was quoted by IRIB as saying that Iran's first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr will be operative in 2009.

He noted that the plant's nuclear reactor is ready and only needs some fine tuning to be inaugurated.

Russia has been helping Iran with the construction of the Bushehr nuclear facility, under a contract signed in 1995.

Earlier this year, Iran's Energy Minister Parviz Fattah declared that the nuclear plant will become operational by the end of this year's summer.

He added that the plant would generate 500 megawatts of electricity by August 22, 2009.