3rd unit of Kakrapar atomic reactor to be commissioned in April

The Department of Atomic Energy will commission one nuclear reactor every year from 2020, starting with the third unit of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station in Gujarat, Union minister Jitendra Singh said.

The 700-MW pressurised heavy water reactor is likely to be commissioned by April, Singh, who is a minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office, said in an interaction with reporters in New Delhi.

"We will commission one nuclear reactor every year from 2020. Kakrapar-3 should be commissioned in 2020," Singh said.

A senior Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) official said the fourth unit of the power station would likely to be commissioned by 2021.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has 22 reactors.

Shrikrishna Gupta, a senior DAE official, said the Tarapur Atomic Power Reactors -- units 1 and 2 -- completed 50 years of operation this year. The two boiling water reactors -- the first in the country -- were commissioned in October 1969.

He said the Kaiga Power Station unit 1 also created a world record by operating for 941 days.