US bankruptcy move won't impact India project: Westinghouse

A view of the jet stock from the overpressure valve inside the condensation chamber, partially filled with water during operation, of Austria's unique nuclear power plant in Zwentendorf, some 50 km (31 miles) west of Vienna, March 16, 2011. The completely finished boiling water nuclear reactor - even the radioactive nuclear fuel rods had already been stored at the facility - was never put online following a 50.47 percent vote against in a national referendum on November 5th, 1978. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader (AUSTRIA - Tags: ENERGY) - RTR2JYVV

The US nuclear industry giant Westinghouse, which is to build six atomic reactors in Andhra Pradesh, is expected to complete its bankruptcy proceedings by next year, and the on-going financial turmoil is unlikely to impact its India project, a top company official said today.

Krish Rajan, Westinghouse vice president, India Business and Project Development, said the company, which has filed for bankruptcy in the US, has a restructuring plan in place.

The Westinghouse is to build six nuclear reactors, with a capacity of 1208-MW each, in Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh.

Westinghouse, a unit of Japan's Toshiba Corporation, moved for bankruptcy in March this year after cost-escalations in two atomic power plants it designed and is constructing in Georgia and South Carolina in the US.

"We expect to be out of bankruptcy Chapter 11 process sometimes early next year. We will be out of that, so it will not have any effect on the (nuclear power project in India)," Rajan said.

The Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code generally provides reorganisation, usually involving a corporation. A chapter 11 debtor usually proposes a plan of reorganisation to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time.

Rajan was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Nuclear Energy Conclave organised by the India Energy Forum here.

When asked whether the civil liability issue still remains a matter of concern for the Westinghouse, Rajan said the company's talks with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, a PSU that operates nuclear power plants, have still not reached that level.

He also noted that India has to come up with an insurance policy for the project.

"The Government of India has to put together an insurance product. We haven't got to the point where insurance product has been completed. We also haven't got to the commercial discussions...to the point where I can translate that in to a full insurance policy," he said.

Although India has tried to assuage the concerns of foreign players building atomic power reactors in the country, the US and French companies have often flagged the insurance issue.