Tehran, Nov 24 (IANS): Iran has announced that its Bushehr nuclear power plant will be launched in February next year.

The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) made the announcement Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

The Bushehr plant has undergone numerous tests to eliminate occurrences of malfunction, and will be launched with its full capacity, AEOI chief Fereidoon Abbasi was quoted as saying by IRNA news agency.

In October, the AEOI announced that the nuclear power plant successfully completed the preliminary stage of its connection to the national grid and was temporarily disconnected.

The power plant would be reconnected soon and would reach its full capacity in November, according to the announcement.

Iran held a ceremony in September to mark the preliminary launch of the delayed project. The construction of the plant was halted when the US imposed an embargo on Iran after the 1979 revolution.

Russia signed a contract with Iran in 1998 to complete the construction. But the project was postponed several times due to technical and financial challenges.