TEHRAN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran will halt the operation of Bushehr nuclear power plant to change the fuel and do necessary repairs, an Iranian official at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency on Wednesday.

"Based on the plan, the operation of Bushehr nuclear power plant will stop on March 1 for the change of its fuel and the required repair work," the Deputy Head of the AEOI Mohammad Ahmadian said.

"The plant will come on stream again after the repair work," he said, adding that loading fuel and implementing basic repairs are natural processes for the operations of nuclear plants.

The construction of the Bushehr plant was started in 1975 by several German companies. However, the work was halted when the United States imposed an embargo on hi-tech supplies to Iran after the 1979 Revolution. Russia signed a contract with Iran to complete the construction in 1998.

The power station became officially operational and was connected to Iran's national grid in September 2011, generating electricity at 40 percent capacity. The plant reached its maximum power generation capacity, namely 1,000 megawatts, in August 2012.