Russia, India ink deal to build 3rd, 4th Kudankulam nuclear power units in India

NEW DELHI, December 11. /TASS/. Russia and India have inked a deal to build third and fourth power units at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in India, chief of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko told reporters on Thursday. “On Thursday morning, we have signed a general framework accord and contracts to order main equipment for third and fourth power units at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant,” the chief of the state nuclear corporation said. He noted that the construction would be made at the same construction site and off-the-shelf blocks would be used. “According to our schedule, concrete placement will start already in early 2016. Preparatory works are in progress, equipment is being ordered at Russian enterprises,” Kiriyenko said. He noted that Russia would extend a state loan to fund orders which would be placed at Russian enterprises. The second Kudankulam power unit is passing a hot trial and is planned to be launched in the spring of 2015, the Rosatom chief added. As for the nuclear power plant, he noted that according to latest calculations the power reserve of the first power unit made around three percent, though it had already been put on design capacity. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with India’s PTI news agency ahead of his visit to India that construction of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant proceeds as scheduled. “The work on two power units of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant is proceeding as scheduled. In October 2013, the first power unit of that NPP was connected to the Indian power grid, and this June that unit reached its full capacity. The second power unit is being prepared for commissioning,” he said. “I must stress that today the Kudankulam nuclear power plant is the world's only nuclear power plant which meets all the post-Fukushima safety requirements,” Putin noted. Russian specialists have been building the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu since 1998, when the sides signed a general agreement on construction. The project provides for the construction of four power units with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts each. The second Kudankulam power unit was commissioned in June 2014, the first power unit was put on full capacity at the same time. By 2017, India plans to build 19 nuclear units with an overall capacity of 17,400 megawatt. Eight of these 19 will be built in partnership with other countries. Read more