Article Posted on : - Aug 12, 2009

Two PWRs under construction at the Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu. Photo Credit: IAEA

CHENNAI (PTI): Officials from India and Russia Tuesday reviewed the progress on construction of the country's biggest-ever nuclear plant at Kudankulam near here which is likely to begin power generation next year.

Executives of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Russia's Atomstroiexport discussed tasks of completing the construction of the first two nuclear power units.

It is understood that the talks focussed on loading of fuel for the first 1000 MW light water reactor imported from Russia.

"We expect that the station will start commissioning and tuning-up work. We expect that the station will start generating power in early 2010," S K Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of NPCIL told reporters here.

Russia has already delivered the fuel for the first reactor in mid-2008.

The agreement to set up nuclear power plants at Kudankulam was signed between India and the erstwhile Soviet Union in 1988. The project remained in limbo due to political upheavals in Russia and got a boost with the inking of a supplementary pact by the two countries ten years later.

In 2004, Russia and India had decided to set up four more nuclear power plants at Kudankulam.