India approves Kudankulam concrete pouring

India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has granted clearance for the first pouring of structural concrete for two Russian-built VVER reactors at Kudankulam units 3 and 4. Pouring of the first structural concrete marks the formal start of construction of a nuclear unit, although site preparation works have been underway for several years.

Excavation of the main plant area for the two new units has already been completed and is ready for construction activities, the AERB said.

Valery Limarenko, head of Rosatom engineering subsidiary ASE Group, said last week the first concrete will be poured in late June or early July.

Kudankulam, in Tamil Nadu, is home to two operating VVER reactors which entered commercial operation in December 2014 and April 2017. The new units are being built as part of an inter-governmental agreement signed between Moscow and New Delhi in 1998, with a second phase to follow.

Units 3 and 4 will be a "repeat design" of units 1 and 2, with "improvements" based on feedback from commissioning and operational experience from the first units, the AERB said. The general contractor is Atomstroyexport, and the general designer is Atomenergoproekt. Both companies are part of ASE Group.

Russia and India earlier this month signed a framework agreement enabling construction of the so-called third stage of the plant, covering the construction of Kudankulam units 5 and 6. The agreement includes an inter-governmental credit protocol for implementation of the project.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News