Russia will start building the world's first floating nuclear power station at a Chinese shipyard in January 2006 under plans to alleviate power shortages in remote regions, a senior energy official said in Moscow Wednesday, according to DPA. A Russian-made reactor block will be mounted on a Chinese-built hull and the station will be positioned off northern Russia or in the Far East, said Alexander Polushkin, deputy director of the state nuclear company Rosatomenergo. Construction is expected to take five years, he added. An 85-million-dollar contract has already been signed with Chinese partners and the entire project is expected to cost 210 million dollars, to come mainly from Russian budget funds.
