India to build Russian-aided nuclear power plant
Date: 05-Nov-01
Country: INDIA
The plant was approved by a cabinet panel a day before Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee begins a trip to Russia, the United States and Britain to promote New Delhi's interests in a post-Taliban Afghanistan. Vajpayee is due to meet President Vladimir Putin during his November 4 to 7 visit in Russia.
"The project will open a new window for the country in the high technology area of advanced Light Water Reactor technology and wide-ranging scientific and technological cooperation...in the vital field of atomic energy," the statement said.
The Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs approved spending of 131.7 billion rupees ($2.7 billion) for the power project.
India would spend 67.55 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) and rest would be funded by soft credit from Russia, India's friend during the Cold War era.
Construction would begin next May on the nuclear power station, to be built at Kudankulam in the Tirunelvelli district of the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
The first unit of 1,000 MW will start generating power in 2007 and the second unit will begin a year later, it said.