Launch of unit 3 & 4 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in 2015-16

Estimated cost of the new projects would be around Rs 39,000 crore

The Unit 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) with 2x1000 MW capacity is being prepared for launch in 2015-16.

Jitendra Singh, MoS in the Prime Minister's Office and Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions in a written reply to Lok Sabha today said the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project Unit-1 (KKNPP 1) with 1,000 MW capacity has been commissioned recently while the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project Unit-2 (KKNPP-2) with 1,000 MW capacity is under commissioning.

In December 2014, the first Unit, with 1000 MW capacity has started power generation and has been connected to the southern grid.

India's atomic power plant operator NPCIL is setting up two 1,000 MW Russian reactors at Kudankulam village in Tirunelveli district, 650 km from here. The total outlay for the project is over Rs.17,000 crore. The first unit attained criticality, which is the beginning of the fission process, in July 2013.

Earlier, R S Sundar, site director, Kudankulam Nuclear Plant said the new units will have 1,000 MW and the project cost is estimated at around Rs 39,000 crore as of now, against Rs 17,000 crore for Unit 1 and 2.

It would take around 69 months for the projects to get completed from the time construction starts. Concrete placement will start in early 2016. The agreements, a general framework accord and contracts to order main equipment, will enable us to place orders for long manufacturing cycle equipment worth Rs 10,000 crore. These would take around two-and-a-half years to design, fabricate, test and deliver at the site. These are mainly nuclear steam supply system, which will be around 320 tonnes.

Singh said in July 2014, the Government had set a target of tripling the then existing nuclear power capacity of 4780 MW in the next ten years viz. 2024.

MoS further said, various sites have been given "In-principle" approval for additional reactors to be set up in future. Currently these sites are under pre-project activities which include land acquisition, obtaining Environmental clearances, evaluation of techno commercial offers in respect of Light Water Reactors (LWRs) to be set up with foreign technical cooperation. Some of these projects include Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (JNPP 1&2), Kaiga (5&6) and Mahi Banswara (1&2) among others.

The safety being an ongoing process, constant review of safety aspects effecting necessary upgrades thereof in line with the evolving safety standards at par with the best international standards is a regular practice in Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).