"The nuclear industry has been set the objective of ensuring energy security and increasing its share in electricity output, as well as expanding onto global markets," Sergei Kiriyenko said.

He said that Russia must build replacement facilities for old nuclear power plants (NPP) and construct new ones to achieve the first goal.

"In 2015-2025, existing NPPs will be coming to the end of their operational cycle and we should build new facilities to replace them," Kiriyenko said.

He also said that Russia had the potential to expand onto global markets, including in the construction of NPPs and supplies of nuclear fuel, and cited the example of a Russian state-owned nuclear fuel supplier, TVEL Corporation, that won a tender Wednesday to supply the Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic with nuclear fuel.

Under the 10-year contract, signed with CEZ Group energy company, TVEL will supply roughly 400 metric tons of fuel to the Czech Republic's largest two-unit NPP, construction of which began in 1987 with Russian help. The first deliveries will arrive in late 2009.

Kiriyenko also said that an ambitious project to supply electricity from the Leningrad NPP to Finland should be thoroughly analyzed to avoid possible shortages of supplies on the domestic market.

The project envisions the construction of two on-shore converter stations and installation of a 150km cable network to supply up to 8.7 billion kWh of electricity annually.

"The project is viable, but it has to be seriously analyzed," Kiriyenko said.

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