EPC contract awarded for Indian reactors
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd has presented a purchase order for the contract to build Kaiga units 5 and 6 to Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd in the first major nuclear contract for the Hyderabad-based company.
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The INR12,800 crore (about USD1.5 billion) engineering, procurement and construction contract for the two 700 MWe nuclear reactor is the biggest order ever placed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and marks Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd's (MEIL) first major step into the nuclear energy sector, MEIL said. (1 crore is 10 million).
"For the first time, NPCIL used the Quality-cum-Cost-Based Selection method for awarding this project - striking a careful balance between quality and cost. Competing with industry giants like BHEL and L&T, MEIL was chosen for its strong technical approach and competitive pricing," the company added.
"For MEIL, it’s a meaningful leap into a sector that plays a key role in powering the nation’s growth story."
MEIL was founded in 1989 and is a multi-sector infrastructure company with interests in hydrocarbons, transportation, irrigation, power, drinking water and manufacturing and an international footprint across more than 20 countries, according to company information.
Kaiga 5 and 6, in Karnataka, will be the first of ten Indian-designed 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors to be built using a fleet mode of construction to bring economies of scale as well as maximising efficiency, which have been given administrative approval and financial sanction by the Indian government. Excavation works for the units began in May 2022. Indian engineering company Larsen & Toubro has already manufactured and dispatched four of the eight steam generators for the units.
Two 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor units at Kakrapar, in Gujurat, are already in commercial operation. Another, Rajasthan unit 7, was connected to the grid in March. Construction is ongoing on a second 700 MWe unit at the Rajasthan site.
According to information shared with the Indian parliament by Minister of State Jitendra Singh earlier this month, all ten of the proposed fleet-mode units - Kaiga units 5 and 6, Gorakhpur units 3 and 4 (in Haryana), Chutka units 1 and 2 (Madhyar Pradesh), and Mahi Banswara units 1-4 (Rajasthan) - are "under pre-project activities".
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