India and France to finalise civil-nuclear contract

New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) India and France are expected to
finalise by next year the contract for setting up of two
civil-nuclear power plants in India's western state of
Maharashtra through a joint venture.

Describing the negotiation between Nuclear Power
Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and France's nuclear
company Areva as "quite well", Ambassador of France to India
Jerome Bonnafont Wednesday said the contract was expected to
be finalised by next year.
He said the contract under which two power plants of 1,650
MW each will be set up in Jaitapur in Maharashtra was given by
Avera this year around mid-July and the negotiations were on
between the two sides.
The contract was prepared on the basis of an MoU signed
between NPCIL and Areva last February.
The Ambassador said NPCIL will be the operator and Avera
will be the builder.
Once the contract is finalised, the construction will
start at the two sites.
The accord with the state-run NPCIL covers two to six
European Pressurised Reactors (EPR), which cost an estimated
four to six billion euros (5.2-7.8 billion dollars) each.
France is among number of countries including the US which
has signed agreement with India in the field of civil-nuclear
cooperation after the end of a nuclear trade embargo on New
Delhi. MORE PTI PYK
ANU


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