Koodankulam plant to cost Rs. 14,000 cr.

By Our Science Correspondent

BANGALORE, JULY 25. The cost of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, which will have two Russian 1,000 MWe VVER reactors, is likely to be around Rs. 14,000 crores.

At its third meeting which concluded in Bangalore on Tuesday, the Indo-Russian Joint Coordination Committee overseeing the project decided that a final decision on the cost would be taken after a month during which time Russian and Indian nuclear specialists would try to find ways to reduce the cost by about six per cent.

Addressing a joint press conference, the Russian Deputy Minister for Atomic Energy, Mr. E.A. Reshetnikov, and the Nuclear Power Corporation's chairman and managing director, Mr. V.K. Chaturvedi, said that costs could be brought down by increasing the level of Indian participation since Russian manpower costs were higher.

Currently, the cost of the project was pegged at Rs. 7 crore for every MWe of installed capacity, with the Russians providing 90 per cent of the equipment in cost terms, according to Mr. Chaturvedi. The remaining 10 per cent of the equipment would come from India and some would even have to be procured from third countries.

About 54 per cent of the project cost would be met by a soft loan at 4 per cent interest from the Russian Federation. The loan would have to be repaid in 14 equal instalments starting one year after completion.

The first concreting at Koodankulam was expected to be carried out in the first quarter of 2002. The aim was to have the first 1,000 MWe unit ready in five years and three months, and the second unit a year later. Mr. Chaturvedi said that power generated from Koodankulam was likely to cost between Rs. 3.50 and Rs. 3.75 a unit.

The reactors being supplied by Russia for Koodankulam were advanced versions, having passive systems which could safely shut down the reactor if the active systems failed. The buildings housing the nuclear reactors would have ``double containment''. The inner shell of the double containment would be steel lined for ``zero escape'' of radioactivity even in accident conditions. The Koodankulam plant would be a model in terms of safety, reliability and efficiency, said Mr. Chaturvedi.

Sufficient land had been acquired at Koodankulam to establish up to six 1,000 MWe units. Depending on the demand for power in the four southern States, more units could be added.

As for the enriched uranium fuel for the reactors, the arrangement with the Russians was that five years' supply of fuel would always have to be maintained in India. If Russia was unable to supply fuel at any time, it would have to arrange further supplies from another source, said Mr. Chaturvedi.

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