Marking the official start of construction, first concrete was poured for Kudankulam 6 yesterday, said Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear company managing the work. This follows the same landmark for unit 5 at the site in June this year. Both are to be AES-92 VVER-1000 reactors, as designed by Russia's Gidropress. they will be owned and operated by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).
Together units 5 and 6 represent the third phase of development at the huge Kudankulam nuclear development at India's southern tip and near the major port of Tuticorin, in the state of Tamil Nadu. They follow units 3 and 4, which are at around 50% completion, and units 1 and 2, which began operation in 2014 and 2017 respectively.
Kudankulam is a long-term strategic project between India and Russia that began with an intergovernmental agreement in 1988. Preparation for units 5 and 6 began with a general agreement in 2016, followed by a framework agreement in 2017. NPCIL began to actively implement these this year as it contracted Larsen & Toubro for civil works and Rosatom's Atomstroyexport for the main components of the reactors.
NPCIL is also building three of its domestically designed pressurised heavy water reactors - Kakrapar unit 4 and Rajasthan units 7 and 8 - as well as a prototype fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam.
