{"id":201623,"date":"2026-08-28T17:31:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T14:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/201623\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T17:31:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T14:31:44","slug":"public-hearings-on-nuclear-waste-storage-site-to-conclude-by-years-end-minister","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/201623\/","title":{"rendered":"Public hearings on nuclear waste storage site to conclude by year’s end \u2013 minister \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

August 28, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Public hearings on the selection of a nuclear waste storage site in Belarus will conclude by the end of 2026, Energy Minister Dzianis Maroz has told news.by<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities are considering three potential sites: near the Astraviec nuclear power plant (NPP) in the Hrodna region, in M\u015bcis\u0142a\u016dl in the Mahilo\u016d region and in Chojniki in the Homiel region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The construction can start only after the conclusion of the public hearings and a corresponding decision, Maroz stressed. Hearings have already taken place in the Astraviec district on August 20 and in the M\u015bcis\u0142a\u016dl district on August 26, according to the local authorities. The meeting in the Chojniki district is reportedly scheduled for September 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, the Lithuanian environment ministry told Minsk it wanted to participate in the assessment of the transboundary environmental impact of the planned Belarusian nuclear storage facility. The ministry also presented Belarus with summary comments from Lithuanian government agencies and public organizations on the proposed facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last October, the Belarusian Radioactive Waste Management Organization was named the project owner for a radioactive waste disposal facility to be built by the state-owned Bie\u0142enerhabud holding company, the general contractor. A few weeks before this announcement, the BelPol investigative group reported that Belarus would likely build the radioactive waste disposal facility near the Astraviec NPP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Located in the Hrodna region, some 10 miles away from the Lithuanian border, the Belarusian NPP has been designed by Russia\u2019s Rosatom and built with a Russian loan. Units 1 and 2 started commercial operation in June 2021 and November 2023, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithuania views the plant as unsafe and describes it as a \u201cgeopolitical weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian government plans to build a third unit and connect it to the grid between 2035 and 2038.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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