NTPC-NPCIL Joint Venture To Develop Two Of The 10 'Fleet Mode' Nuclear Power Plants In India

State-run power major NTPC and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) have signed a supplementary joint venture agreement for development of nuclear power projects.

The agreement was signed by NTPC director projects Ujjwal Kanti Bhattacharya and NPCIL director projects Ranjay Sharan in New Delhi on Monday (1 May).

Union Power Minister R K Singh and Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman K N Vyas and other power ministry officials were also present during the occasion.

The company will initially develop two pressurised heavy-water reactor (PHWR) projects -- Chutka Madhya Pradesh Atomic Power Project (2x700 MW), and Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (4x700 MW), according to a Power Ministry statement.

Both the aforementioned atomic power projects at Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have been identified as a part of fleet mode nuclear projects.

"This Supplementary Joint Venture Agreement marks a pivotal step for NTPC Ltd. and NPCIL to collaborate and cooperate in the field of development of Nuclear Power projects which shall help the country in meeting its Clean Energy Commitments to achieve net zero emission target by 2070," the Power Ministry said.

Earlier in April, the Centre informed the Parliament that it has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for ten indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors of 700 MW each in fleet mode.

The ten reactors will come up in Karnataka, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

Two nuclear reactors will each be installed in Kaiga, Chutka, and Gorakhpur nuclear power plants, while the Mahi Banswara nuclear power plant in Rajasthan will get four nuclear reactors.

"The Government has amended the Atomic Energy Act in 2015 to enable the Joint Ventures of NPCIL with Public Sector Enterprises to set up nuclear power projects. These reactors are planned to be set up in ‘fleet mode’ progressively by the year 2031 at a cost of Rs. 1,05,000 crores," the Department of Atomic Energy said in a statement.