Cost of Kudankulam unit 3 and 4 double the cost of earlier units
Department of atomic energy officials attributed the cost escalation to operators and suppliers taking expensive insurance necessary under the nuclear liability law
Chennai: The third and fourth units of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu will cost twice as much the first and second, atomic energy minister Jitendra Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The approved cost of units 1 and 2 is ₹ 17,270 crore while that of units 3 and 4 is ₹ 39,747 crore, Singh said in a written response to a question.
Unit 1 of Kudankulam achieved full power in June and has so far generated 2,825 MW, while unit 2 is close to commissioning.
Officials in the department of atomic energy attributed the cost escalation to operators and suppliers taking expensive insurance necessary under the nuclear liability law. All the four reactors, with a capacity of 1,000 MW each, have been built with Russian assistance.
The officials declined to be named.
The unit, which was shut down due to technical reasons, is expected to start generating power this week. It was connected to the southern grid in October 2013.
The approved cost of the prototype fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam is ₹ 5,677 crore, while units 7 and 8 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station is ₹ 12,320 crore. For units 3 and 4 of Kakrapar, ₹ 11,459 crore has been approved.
PTI contributed to this story.
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