NPCIL in talks with France's Areva for Ratnagiri plant

The state-run Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL) is talking to French energy major Areva to work out a business model for the proposed 3300 mw nuclear plant at Jaitapur in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. "We are working on a business model with Areva to build two 1,650-mw European pressurised reactors (EPRs) at Jaitapur. It would be on the lines of what we have done with Russia for two units of the 1,000-mw each of light-water nuclear power plants at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu," senior NPCIL officials said .They also said once completed, Areva's EPRs would be the largest in the country. Areva and NPCIL are expected to arrive at optimisation of cost while evolving the business model. Talks would be concluded within a few months, the officials said.

"Since it is not a turn-key project, it is important to have a line of demarcation for distribution of work like construction of plants, part of training and commissioning processes as we did in the case of Russian reactors in Tamil Nadu," they explained. NPCIL has acquired the land required to house six EPRs in Jaitapur. The title of the land was transferred to NPCIL on January 26 this year, they added. Public hearing has been completed and a draft environment impact assessment has been submitted to the Union environment ministry, the officials said.

Both NPCIL and Areva are eagerly waiting for the Nuclear Liability Bill, which is expected to come up for discussion in the monsoon session of Parliament, they added.