Mumbai, May 26
The first consignment of uranium fuel from Russia for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu has reached the southern state, marking the beginning of the lifetime supply for the project.
This consignment, which arrived in Mumbai Sunday, comes under a sovereign guarantee of the Russian Federation, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) said in a statement today. The plant is being built in collaboration with Russia and has two units of 1000 MW each of the VVER type a pressurised water reactor constituting majority of power reactors in the world.
According to the NPCIL, the two reactors use low enriched uranium as fuel. Under the agreement between India and the Russian Federation, India will be allowed to reprocess the spent fuel from these reactors. The plant will be subjected to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s safeguards.
The project is coming up at Radhapuram taluka of Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district. The construction activities are being carried out round the clock for an early completion of the project.
Currently, the pre-commissioning activities have commenced at the site. Indian scientists and engineers have also been trained and qualified for commissioning, operation and maintenance activities at the plant.
