President Vladimir Putin formally inaugurated the formal start of construction for the seventh power unit at the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The announcement came through state media, confirming the move during a video conference from Novo-Ogarevo. The ceremony authorized the first cubic meters of concrete to be poured on the site where the seventh unit will rise, marking a key milestone in the plant’s expansion.
During the session, the president stated, I allow this, when asked to give a formal order to begin work. The event was attended by senior figures, including Rosatom’s chief executive officer Alexey Likhachev and Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of the Leningrad region, as cited in official records.
The Leningrad NPP stands as Russia’s largest operating facility by installed capacity, currently around 4,337.6 MW. It sits in Sosnovy Bor on the Baltic Sea coast near the Gulf of Finland, with the first unit entering service in 1973. Updates on the plant’s development and licensing were reported recently as part of ongoing oversight by the Rosatom group and the state regulator, Rosatom’s affiliates noting license continuity for the construction of reactors in blocks 7 and 8.
In related developments, regulators and operators have continued to monitor the broader nuclear safety and energy production landscape, including official assessments and public communications about the progress and security measures at major facilities. The situation at Kursk NPP has also been reported in connection with regional security considerations amid hostilities in nearby regions, underscoring the importance of ongoing risk management for critical energy infrastructure.