Ukraine conflict | Russia’s Rosatom doesn't foresee any disruptions in Kudankulam nuclear power plant execution

Kudankulam nuclear power plant. (Image: PTI)

Russia’s state-owned Rosatom State Atomiс Energy Corporation (Rosatom) does not expect any disruptions in the execution of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant that it is building for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India in Tamil Nadu due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is slated to be India’s largest electricity unit to run on nuclear power. The plans entail constructing six units of 1,000 megawatts (MW) each, of which two units have already been completed. The project is seen as a milestone for Indo-Russia cooperation as it is being built by Rosatom’s subsidiary Atomstroyexport.

Unit-1 started generation in 2013, while Unit-2 in 2016. The work on Unit-3 and Unit-4 is in the advanced stage and is scheduled to be completed by financial year 2027. In June last year, the construction work on Unit-5 and Unit-6 started with the first concrete pouring into the foundation plate of the reactor building.

Rosatom had said last year that Russian enterprises are already manufacturing equipment required for the plant on a priority basis. The country also signed credit protocols over the years for the different units, under which Russia is extending credit to India to finance the project. The escalation of conflict between Russia and Ukraine has triggered concerns over disruptions in equipment and credit supply for the projects that have already been much delayed.

“No disruption is foreseen in any of the commitments and delivery schedules in the construction of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant,” Rosatom said in an email response to Moneycontrol’s query. The company did not respond to the specific questions asked by Moneycontrol.

The project has been marred by controversies that led to delays and cost escalation.

The project, the seeds were sown first through an Inter-Governmental Agreement in November 1988 by the then prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and the Soviet Union's head of state Mikhail Gorbachev, remained in limbo for close to a decade as the Union dissolved. The project was revived and construction started in 2000 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister. In 2011, after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, protests erupted against the Kudankulam NPP that stalled work and led to delays. The then prime minister Manmohan Singh had blamed foreign non-government organisations for the protests. In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa jointly dedicated the Unit-1 of Kudankulam NPP to the nation.

According to reports, the insurance for units 3 and 4 have not been finalised due to differences between GIC and New India Assurance over the premium for the insurance cover of Rs 43,200 crore.