L&T, NPCIL set to join hands

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is forming a joint venture with state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to explore co-operation in manufacturing and setting up of nuclear power plants as a part of India's ambitious nuclear development programme.

The long term co-operation agreement is likely to cover areas such as sharing of technical knowledge and manufacturing critical equipment such as forgings and steam generators required for setting up nuclear reactors, informed sources said. NPCIL and L&T will sign on a memorandum of understanding on Monday, they added. NPCIL and L&T officials declined comment.

NPCIL will hold the majority stake in the joint venture as nuclear energy is not fully open to the private sector. This will be the first joint venture for NPCIL with a private company to manufacture nuclear equipment, the sources said. NPCIL is the only company mandated to set up nuclear power plants in India along with Bhavini which is setting up a fast breeder nuclear reactor.

Two days ago, NPCIL and the public sector National Aluminium Company had agreed to collaborate in setting up nuclear power plants in the country. Earlier, NPCIL had signed a similar agreement with National Thermal Power Corporation to set up nuclear power plants and with Bharat Heavy Electricals to make nuclear reactors.

L&T is setting up a nuclear equipment forging shop at Hazira in Gujarat at an investment of Rs 1,500 crore, which will be completed by 2011. At Hazira, L&T plans to manufacture 200- to 250-tonne big forgings with the ultimate aim to make full nuclear reactors once it acquires the requisite technological expertise.

L&T has already teamed up with four major global nuclear power equipment vendors with the aim to earn Rs 4,000 to 6,000 crore annually, once India’s ambitious 60,000 Mw nuclear power plan takes off within the next 12 months.

Pune-based Bharat Forge, the world’s largest manufacturer of automotive forgings, and Areva, the world leader in nuclear power, are planning to jointly set up a heavy forgings facility for nuclear reactors in India. Currently, India lacks competent manufacturers of forgings for 1,000 Mw and above super-critical light water reactors.

L&T has experience in equipment manufacture, construction, project maintenance and other support services for indigenously developed pressurised water reactor programmes in India, starting with the Tarapur reactor in 1974. It also has a major role in construction, piping and erection services for the first two Russian technology nuclear reactors coming up at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu.

Recently, L&T won a repeat order for design, manufacture and supply of four steam generators for 700 Mw pressurised heavy water reactors for the 7th and 8th units of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant from NPCIL, the largest steam generators built in India so far.

The company also won a ‘technology development’ order from the Department of Atomic Energy for welded grid plate for the core assembly of a fast breeder reactor, which is a part of India’s next stage nuclear programme.