New Delhi: The construction of units 5 and 6 of India’s Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNP), located in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, began on Tuesday (June 29).
The first pour of concrete (FPC), which was carried out, is an important milestone in a nuclear power project and is considered as the date of the project’s start.
Prior to FPC, continuous preparatory work was carried out such as concrete bed for the foundation of the reactor building, auxiliary reactor building with main control room, etc.
India’s largest nuclear power generation facility, KKNP, comprises six units of Light Water Reactors (VVERs), each with a capacity of 1000 MW.
The reactors set up at Kudankulam with technical assistance from the Russian Federation are state-of-the-art in terms of safety. They incorporate a combination of advanced, multi-layered safety features to ensure the highest level of protection for the plant, the public and the environment.
Being implemented in three phases of 2x1000MW each, units 1 and 2 are operational, while 3 and 4 are about 50% under construction.
The construction of Units 5 and 6 is expected to be completed in 66 and 75 months respectively. With the completion of all these projects in the coming years, the country will get 6000MW of clean energy.
The program was launched in virtual mode by KN Vyas, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, in the presence of Dr. Alexey Likhachev, Director General, ROSATOM and SK Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director of Atomic Energy Corporation. India Limited.
Senior officials of Department of Atomic Energy, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and units of M/s Larsen & Toubro were also present on the occasion.
“For many years the Kudankulam NPP construction project has been a symbol of close cooperation between Russia and India. However, we do not want to stop at what has already been achieved. Rosatom has all the most advanced nuclear power technologies. We, along with our Indian partners, are ready to begin serial manufacturing of state-of-the-art Generation III+ Russian-designed nuclear power units at a new site in India. This is determined by existing agreements, ”Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said during the ceremony.
The Russian Ambassador to India, His Excellency Mr. Nikolay Kudashev said, “The first spraying of concrete at the construction site of the 5th nuclear reactor of the Kudankulam NPP, which took place today, is one of the key moments in Russian-Indian nuclear energy cooperation. demonstrates our steadfast determination to achieve success in the
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