Referring to the proposed nuclear power plant at Kovvada in Srikakulam district, Dr S.K. Jain, chairman and managing director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, said land acquisition would start soon as all misgivings have been cleared. “Ours is a public sector company and everything is transparent,” he declared.
Dr Jain agreed that the nuclear mishap at Fukushima in Japan last year had pushed back the schedule of the Kovvada nuclear plant by 15 to 18 months.
During the 12th Five-Year-Plan, eight nuclear power plants would be set up, four of 700 MWe and four of 1000 MWe. Mr M.V. Kotwal, president (heavy engineering), L&T Limited, said his company had invested about Rs 1,700 crore in the nuclear power sector in partnership with NPCIL. “We do not have to be held to ransom by suppliers located in the US and Europe. We can make them in India itself,” he added referring to indigenising of nuclear technology.
The L&T integrated facility can handle 300 tonnes of ingots at present. It can be expanded to 600 tonnes. He said L&T had started production of several sub-assemblies and exported to a company in the United States. Mr Kotwal claimed that many international companies are interested in Indian products for nuclear plants.