Kudankulam atomic plant’s Unit 5 construction begins

Russia’s Rosatom is scheduled to construct 6 units of VVER-1000, light-water reactors at Kudankulam

June 29, 2021 02:39 pm | Updated 07:47 pm IST - NEW DELHI

The Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu is a joint venture between India and Russia. File

The Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu is a joint venture between India and Russia. File

Construction of the Unit 5 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) began on Tuesday with a formal ceremony to mark the first concrete pouring into the foundation plate of the reactor building.

“The concrete pouring commemorated the official commencement of the main stage of the nuclear power plant stage 3 construction,” Russia’s Rosatom state nuclear corporation said in a statement. Due to anti-epidemiological restrictions, the ceremony was held via videoconference, it stated.

The first concrete pouring was preceded by preliminary work, which included the concrete bedding for the foundations of the reactor building, an auxiliary reactor building with the main control room, a turbine building and power supply building for normal operation, emergency power supply and safety control systems.

“For many years, the KNPP construction project has been a symbol of close cooperation between Russia and India. However, we do not want to stop at what had already been achieved. Rosatom has all the most advanced nuclear power technologies. Together with our Indian colleagues, we are ready to launch the serial construction of the state-of-the-art Generation III+ Russian-designed nuclear power units at a new site in India. It is stipulated by the existing agreements,” Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom, said during the ceremony.

Russian companies are already manufacturing equipment required for the first priority installation, the equipment for the reactor facilities and turbine hall for Unit 5, the statement said.

12 units

Rosatom is scheduled to construct six units of VVER-1000, light-water reactors at Kudankulam. In December 2014, both sides announced a decision for the construction of at least 12 more units in India.

Russia is building the KNPP under an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) of 1988 and follow the agreements in 1998 and 2008. The Unit-1 joined the grid in October 2013 and the Unit-2 was connected to the grid in August 2016.

After signing the General Framework Agreement (GFA) on April 10, 2014 for the construction of the Units 3 and 4, negotiations began for the construction of the Units 5, 6, and an agreement was reached that these units would be constructed in compliance with the same design as it was stipulated for the Units 3, 4. On June 1, 2017, the credit protocol of the IGA of December 05, 2008, and the GFA for the Units 5 and 6 were signed.

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