NPCIL to commence construction of first indigenous PHWR next year

The construction work by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) on the first of the 10 units of new domestically designed pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) is likely to commence next year, a senior government official said. State-run NPCIL, which is constructing 10 units of indigenous 700 MW of PHWR, has already started taking preparatory actions including land acquisition and clearances from statutory authorities like the ministry of environment and forest and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board among others, chairman and managing director SK Sharma told PTI.

"Initially, we have finalized two locations, one in Kaiga in Karnataka and another in Haryana. Whichever of the two gets the complete clearances first, we will commence our construction work there," he said.

Sharma said that since the 10 PHWRs will come up in fleet mode as a fully homegrown initiative, it will be developed in phases. In 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the plans for the construction of these 10 units, which will have a total installed capacity of 7000 MW, which is more than the country's entire current capacity of 6,780 MW.

At present, there are 22 operational nuclear power plants which have a total capacity of 6,780 MW. Of this, 18 reactors use heavy water. The government has planned to set up the 10 nuclear reactors at Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan, Chutka in Madhya Pradesh, Kaiga in Karnataka and Haryana.

As per the plans of the government, the move will help domestic companies in attracting manufacturing orders of close to Rs 70,000 crore. The project will create more than 33,400 employment opportunities, both direct and indirect.

When asked about the progress of the proposal to build six US nuclear reactors along with Westinghouse Electric (WEC) in Andhra Pradesh, Sharma said, "we are in discussions with the company to arrive at a project proposal which includes both technological as well as commercial aspects. When we conclude those discussions to the satisfaction of the parties, there will be a proposal which we will put up to the government." In March this year, in a joint statement, the US and India had said that they had agreed to strengthen security and civil nuclear cooperation, including the proposal for building six Westinghouse-designed AP1000 reactors in India.