The work on selecting sites for new Russian-designed nuclear power plants has begun in earnest in India, Indian Ambassador Pundi Srinivasan Raghavan told RIA Novosti in a recent interview.
In December 2014, Russia and India signed all the necessary documents for expanding bilateral cooperation in the nuclear field. Under these agreements, Russia will assist India to build up to 12 nuclear units in the next 20 years.
“The process of selecting such sites is now in a very advanced stage,” said the ambassador.
However, many things remain to be done – “A multitude of tests need to be carried out, a lot of issues need to be resolved, legal and otherwise,” the diplomat added. “Therefore, I cannot go into more detail.”
Russia, in accordance with an intergovernmental agreement signed in 1988, and subsequent additional agreements to that agreement, in India they are building the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. The first unit is by far the most powerful and safe in India, meeting the latest modern safety requirements. The unit was attached to national grid of India in 2013. The second power unit should be launched in the spring of 2015.
Last spring, Russia and India concluded a general framework agreement on the construction of the second phase of the project (the third and fourth units), and in December, they signed documents that allow construction work to start.
First published in Russian by RIA Novosti.
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