What is a Cuban nuclear power plant that has been left unfinished for over 30 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union?

In 1983, the construction of the Juragua nuclear power plant, which has two 440-megawatt reactors near the Caribbean Sea in Cuba, began with the cooperation of the Soviet Union. However, as of 2023, the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant has not been completed and remains under construction. Ex Utopia, a blog that covers ghost towns and ruins around the world, features the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant.

The Soviet Legacy: Inside Cuba's Unfinished Nuclear Power Station - Ex Utopia
https://www.exutopia.com/cuba-abandoned-unfinished-soviet-nuclear-power-station/

The planned construction area of the Juragua nuclear power plant is only 180 miles (about 290 km) south of the Florida peninsula in the United States, so the United States opposed the construction of the nuclear reactor as a ``threat to national security''. Still, Cuba and the Soviet Union forced the construction of nuclear reactors. According to the Soviet plan, the reactor was supposed to be completed in 1995-1996.

However, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 had a devastating effect on the architectural plans. Funds from the Soviet Union dried up, and in September 1992 Cuban President Fidel Castro (at that time) announced a temporary suspension of the building plan. At this point, the first reactor was 90 to 97% complete, and 37% of the equipment had been installed, but the second reactor was not even 30% complete.

After that, Cuba and Russia repeatedly discussed whether to restart the construction plan for the Juragua nuclear power plant. Russia loaned $50 million to Cuba in 1995 (approximately 4.7 billion yen at the rate at that time), but the estimated budget of $800 million (approximately 75 billion yen at the rate at that time) that was necessary for completion was It didn't go far.

In 1997, the Russian government again indicated its intention to resume construction of the Juragua nuclear power plant. Also, Russian President Putin visited Cuba in 2000 and proposed to Castro to complete the building project for $ 800 million, but Castro refused.

However, in 2013, Castro's younger brother, Raul Castro, accepted Russia's offer, canceling Cuba's $32 billion debt to the Soviet Union. That's right. Still, the Juragua nuclear power plant shows no sign of completion and is still left unfinished. When Ex Utopia visited the site, a large number of bats had settled there, and the concrete and metal pipes had deteriorated and collapsed. It can be said that it is severe.