"A group of Russian experts left April 8 for Iran and will visit today the Bushehr NPP to inspect the construction work at the site," a company spokesman said. "Russian and Iranian partners will review the implementation of the project, including a schedule for further equipment supplies."
The $1 billion project being built under a 1995 contract was in jeopardy after Atomstroyexport, the general contractor, said that Tehran had not made any payments for the NPP construction since mid-January, and that by the fourth quarter of 2006 the project had only received 60% of the required funding.
The company warned that the launch of the NPP and nuclear fuel deliveries could be delayed as a result.
On March 26, Atomstroyexport announced that Tehran had resumed financing of the Bushehr nuclear power plant and it had received the first payment from Iran, but reiterated that Russia expected future payments on time to avoid further delays in the construction.
"It is positive that our Iraqi partners have overcome the difficulties, but it is a long way from compensating us for the construction needs that have emerged over the [non-payment] period," said Sergei Novikov, an aide to the head of the Russian Nuclear Power Agency.
The Bushehr project implemented under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog was originally scheduled for commissioning at the end of 2006, but the date has been postponed five times.
The project was originally started by Germany's Siemens in 1975, but work stopped following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
