Westinghouse’s operations in Asia will not be affected by its decision to file for bankruptcy in America, the nuclear power company that is in talks to set up six reactors in India, said on Wednesday. “We are continuing with our India bids,” Sarah Cassella, External Communications Manager of the company told The Hindu by email.
Ms. Cassella did not respond to a question on the possibility of the talks between the company and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) meeting a June deadline for conclusion.
“Westinghouse’s operations in its Asia and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Regions are not impacted by the…filings. Customers in those regions will continue to receive the high-quality products and services they have come to expect in the usual course,” the company said in a statement. The company has obtained $800 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from a third-party lender to help fund and protect its core businesses. Asian operations will also benefit from this financing, the company said.
Reorganisation plan
“Today, we have taken action to put Westinghouse on a path to resolve our AP 1000 financial challenges while protecting our core businesses,” said Interim President & CEO José Emeterio Gutiérrez. “We are focused on developing a plan of reorganisation to emerge from Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) as a stronger company while continuing to be a global nuclear technology leader.”
AP 1000 is the pressurised water reactor design developed and owned by the company. Westinghouse has been in talks with the NPCIL to build six AP 1000 reactors in Andhra Pradesh. This was the first commercial agreement to be concluded under the India-US civil nuclear deal singed in 2008.
While the U.S government has also taken the view that bankruptcy filing will have no impact on the ongoing commercial negotiations, India has taken a benign view of the developments.
