Russia will begin to operate the world’s first floating nuclear power plant in just three years time.

The specially-made ship with a nuclear power plant on-board will provide energy, heat and drinking water to relatively inaccessible areas of the vast country.

The director of Russia’s largest shipbuilders, the Baltic Plant, announced that the unique ship should be operational by 2016 at the 6th International Naval Show in St Petersburg.

The first ship will be called Akademik Lomonosov and is intended to be the first of small fleet of floating nuclear plants in Russia.

The Akademik Lomonosov will weigh 21,500 tons and have a crew of 69 people. But it will not have a propulsion system so will have to be towed to the location where it is needed, according to global news service, RT.

It will have two modified KLT-40 reactors that will be able to provide enough energy for a city with 200,000 people.

The floating power plants will be able to be modified and be used as a desalination plant. This means that the ship could produce a staggering 240,000 cubic metres of fresh water every day.

The ship builder insists that the process of fuel enrichment on the floating power station complies with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s regulations.

The firm claims that its floating power station is safe for the environment as it does not release any hazardous substances while it is operating.