MOSCOW. Sept 12 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia and Canada are drafting a cooperation agreement on the disposal of Russian multipurpose nuclear submarines.
"Canada has sent its version of the text to the Atomic Energy Ministry and ministry experts are now considering it," a ministry official told Interfax.
He said Canada planned to finance the disposal of three submarines a year. However, before the agreement is signed, it is difficult to forecast the sums of possible contracts or volume of operations. He also could not give a specific date for when the agreement would be signed.
The spokesman said that it costs $5-6 million to scrap one submarine depending on its type.
In 2002, Russia scrapped 17 nuclear submarines. Nuclear fuel was removed from 14 of them. The government spent 1.8 billion rubles on the project. This year, funding is expected to rise to 2 billion rubles, the ministry reported.