France interested in building new nuclear power plant in Armenia

French companies are interested in participating in the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Armenia, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said. Armenia plans to build a new power plant with a capacity of approximately 1,000 MW. The project could cost about $5 billion. The Armenian parliament abolished the state monopoly for ownership of new nuclear power units in 2006 in order to attract foreign capital for the project. "A group of French experts will be sent to Armenia to discuss cooperation in energy, road construction and transport," Fillon said. The two sides also discussed issues of cooperation with France in the field of road construction, including the North-South transport corridor. The Armenian government approved an investment program last year to build the North-South transport corridor, with an estimated cost of $1.5 billion, for which Armenia signed a $500 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank. The North-South transport corridor will enable Armenia to mitigate the effects of the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey.