Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project: Construction begins for units 5 and 6

TIRUNELVELI: Construction of the 2,000 megawatt (2 X 1000) units 5 and 6 at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) commenced with the ‘first pour of concrete’ on Tuesday. The project, to be completed at an outlay of Rs 49,621, was launched by chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy Kamlesh Nilkanth Vyas through videoconference.
KKNPP comprises six units of light water reactors with a capacity of 1,000 megawatt each. It is set up in technical cooperation with the Russian Federation. The project is being implemented in three phases with 2 X 1000 MW in each phase. Units 1 and 2, which have a combined capacity of 2,000 MW, were completed in the first phase, commissioned and have generated more than 57,400 million units of electricity. Construction of Units 3 and 4 is under way in the second phase and these units with a total capacity of 2,000 MW are nearly 50% complete.
According to KKNPP officials, construction in phase two got delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and efforts are under way to expedite work.
Construction of Units 5 and 6 will be completed in 66 months and 75 months, respectively. On completion of these projects, the six units in KKNPP will generate 6,000 MW clean electricity by the year 2028.
Rosatom director general Alexey Likhachev and chairman and managing director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) Satish Kumar Sharma also took part in the event virtually along with senior officials of NPCIL, Department of Atomic Energy and Larsen and Toubro.