Mamata Banerjee’s ‘No-Clear’ For Nuclear Forces Modi Government To Shift Russian Project To Andhra

With preliminary work on the last couple of units of the Kundankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu having commenced, India is allotting land to Russia for building an atomic power plant in Andhra Pradesh.

Deccan Herald has reported that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and JSC Atomstroyexport of Russia have signed an agreement, credit protocol and contracts for the supply of equipments to KNPP’s two units.

The new site is speculated to be allocated in Kavali of Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. NCPIL is in talks with the US giant Westinghouse Electric Company to construct a power plant at Kovvada in AP.

This comes after the West Bengal government’s staunch opposition to allotting a site for the project at Haripur in the state. The plant at Kavali will have six Russian VVER-1200 reactors that can produce up to 1200 MWe.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi will be hosting Vladimir Putin in New Delhi next month on the occasion of the nineteenth Indo-Russia annual summit. The summit will review the execution of the ‘Programme of Action’ signed between Department of Atomic Energy of India and Rosatom of Russia in December three years ago. India and Russia have agreed to manufacture at least 50 per cent of the components for the Andhra nuclear reactors locally.