Reactor plant equipment installed in Kudankulam 3

Rosatom, whose engineering division is general designer and contractor for Kudankulam 3, said the "open top" technique was used by its Indian partners.

It said the first time it was used at Kudankulam was for the reactor vessel of unit 3. Steam generators, reactor coolant pumps, main coolant pipelines and the pressuriser have been installed in the same way.

Andrei Lebedev, vice president of projects in India for ASE JSC, said: "This technique aims at reducing the risks of equipment installation and shortening the time to do this. As evidenced by preliminary analysis, the open method results in 5-7 months of time saved. Equipment is supplied directly through the open top of the cylindrical part of the reactor building thus allowing you to reduce the number of operations performed. The current level of technology development ensures that activities are performed in alignment with all regulatory requirements."

Kudankulam is a long-term strategic project between India and Russia that began with an intergovernmental agreement in 1988. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited is building four new units of 1000 MWe each in Kudankulam, which is in Tamil Nadu in soutthern India - units 3, 4, 5 and 6. The expected completion dates for Kundankulam 3 and 4 are in 2023. Kudankulam 1 and 2 entered commercial operation in December 2014 and April 2017, respectively.