The foundation laying work for reactor units three and four has begun and talks for units five and six are under way.
THE Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) site on 2,619 acres in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, is buzzing with construction activity and the mood is effervescent. The first Russian unit, called VVER-1000, has been generating its full power output of 1,000 MWe from February 22. The second unit, also a Russian VVER-1000, reached criticality on July 10 and was synchronised with the electricity grid on August 29. It is undergoing “phase C” checks, with its electricity output being raised in stages. It is expected to generate its full power of 1,000 MWe by the end of 2016.
On October 15, at Benaulim, Goa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin pressed a button to signal the start of the foundation concrete laying work for reactor units 3 and 4 of 1,000 MWe each. Simultaneously, at the Kudankulam site, S.K. Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), and Valery Limarenko, president, Atomstroyexport, waved green flags as concrete was poured into the foundation pits. The first pour of nuclear concrete, which signals the start of construction of the two units, is expected to take place in the first quarter of financial year 2017-18. The estimated cost of building Kudankulam 3 and 4 is Rs.39,849 crore. While Atom stroy export, the Russian state company, will supply the technology, the equipment, the components and the individual systems, NPCIL will build the reactors as was the case with Kudankulam 1 and 2.
This story is from the November 11, 2016 edition of FRONTLINE.
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This story is from the November 11, 2016 edition of FRONTLINE.
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