A worker gestures as he stands next to the New Safe Confinement structure (NSC) under construction, an arch that will cover the reactor building number 4 once placed over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, April 22, 2016. (Xinhua/SIPA)

YEREVAN, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan said on Thursday that his country intends to keep producing nuclear power.

The operations of Armenia's Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, the only such plant in the South Caucasus, have been extended until 2027.

When asked about the prospects of building a new nuclear power plant since the current one is reaching the end of its lifespan, Karapetyan said Armenia has always been keen on having nuclear power.

Built in late 70's, the plant located 36 km west of capital Yerevan was shut down in 1989 due to safety concerns following a devastating earthquake in December 1988.

It was reopened in 1995. The plant currently produces approximately 40 percent of electricity consumed in the country.