Kudankulam units 3 and 4 agreement in July: Rosatom

The final techno-commercial agreement for Kudankulam 3 and 4 reactors will be signed by July, a top official of Rosatom said here Tuesday, adding that all differences resulting from India's 2010 Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act have been resolved.

"After working together with India, a solution has been arrived at regarding India's nuclear liability law," Kirill Komarov, deputy director general of Russia's nuclear energy corporation, told media persons on the sidelines of the international nuclear energy conference Atomexpo 2014.

Earlier, Rosatom director general Sergei Kirienko had said that all pending issues had been resolved and the final agreement will be signed next month paving the way for construction of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) units 3 and 4.

"We have signed a protocol in April, and the issues regarding the units 3 and 4 have been agreed upon," Kirienko said.

The Rosatom chief said a report on certain parameters is awaited and the final agreement will be signed next month.

"We have signed the contractual framework, while the Indian operator (Nuclear Power Corp - NPCIL) and the regulator (AERB) are checking on certain parameters like the seismic ones," Kirienko said.

Russia's position was that the liability law, which makes the suppliers financially liable in the event of an accident, was unnecessary in its civil nuclear partnership with India. It said the cost of the supplied equipment would increase significantly if the suppliers were made accountable.

In 2013, India and Russia had signed an agreement for a $3.4 billion Russian line of credit for the two new units. The cost for the two reactors is expected to be more than $7 billion.

Unlike Kudankulam 3 and 4, the first and second Kudankulam units will function independent of the liability law.

Last week, KNPP attained its full generation capacity and became the first nuclear plant in the country to generate 1,000 MW of power.