Slovenia jointly owns the plant with Croatia. It was shut down after the leak occurred on the connection system of the primary circuit on Oct. 6.
"Currently, the damaged part of the pipeline is being replaced with the new one," the government said in a statement, adding that the safety injection system's pipeline on the other side of the reactor vessel will also be replaced "as a preventive measure".
The government said the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration (SNSA) was supervising the situation and execution of the repair works.
"If the repair works are properly carried out, all the required tests successfully executed, and the appropriate approvals gained ..., the startup of the NEK is presumably going to take place in November," the government said.
NEK, in eastern Slovenia close to the border with Croatia, produces more than 6 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually which covers about 20% of the electrical energy demand in Slovenia and 16% in Croatia.
NEK was built in cooperation with U.S. company Westinghouse Electric Corporation and started operating in 1982. In 2016 Slovenia and Croatia agreed to prolong its lifespan by 20 years until 2043.
